Third Energy Chronicles
by largefish8
Summary: As usual, the summary is sitting on chapter one for your viewing pleasure. Please leave a review after reading and enjoy. Rated T for gore. Note: Image property of Andrée Wallin and is used with his permission.
1. Prologue

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belong to Ubisoft. The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra.**

**Authors note: This story is completely unrelated to mine and Cydra's saga stories.  
**

**The Third Energy Chronicles: Prologue**

_Third energy was supposed to be the answer to all of humanities woes. A beacon of hope that would end the global energy crisis. The world rejoiced as the first of the new Third Energy reactors, based in London prepared to go live. Too late humanity learnt that far from being a saviour…Third Energy was a nightmare…_

**Paris 2012**

**December, 21st**

**J.S.F-Controlled zone**

**36 hours since Third energy disaster…**

Matthew and his sister ran through the almost deserted Parisian streets, hearing the steady throb of helicopter blades in the distance. "Come on, sis. We're almost there," said Matthew. He and his sister had been on a field trip with their college to Paris when the accident had occurred. Nobody really knew what had happened beyond that the Third Energy reactor complex in London had exploded, wiping out the city and its inhabitants and the leaders of the world's three superpowers.

Barely 12 hours later, had reports that the number of animal attacks worldwide had skyrocketed. What confused the shattered authorities were the descriptions. Apparently, Dinosaurs were responsible. At first the reports were laughed off…until the attacks were happening right outside in the streets. Chloe, Matthew and their group had been in the hotel when a group of the dinosaurs, apparently Velociraptors, had broken in and began slaughtering the guests while outside, the enforcer Corps and Joint Strike Force tried valiantly to repel them.

Matthew had watched the raptors tear apart the head of the school trip. He and his sister had been forced to hide in their hotel room. Chloe began to wretch. She felt nausea begin to overwhelm her body. She couldn't stop herself as she threw up all over the floor. "Oops," she said. "Never mind," Matt said, "I'm sure the hotel staff won't mind." He grabbed his sister and began to look for a way out.

The door into the room shuddered under a kick that caused the security lock to spark. "Oh great, we're in a remake of the fourth Jurassic park movie," said Matt, opening the window to the balcony. A tarpaulin cover was below. "It's better than being eaten," said Chloe, looking down. More snarls came from the door as the raptors tried to smash it again.

Outside in the streets, it was pandemonium. Panicked civilians ran for their lives as raptors flooded the streets, making unearthly screams to signal their packmates to attack. Blood flowed freely through the gutters from the hundreds of dead and wounded victims. The air hung with the smell of rotted meat... the sickening stench of the prehistoric predators.

One man tried to sprint down an alleyway, away from the carnage. He came face to face with a 20 ft long predator with a neck frill. The dinosaur's head flicked back, and a burning pain erupted in his eyes. The dinosaur had spat in his eyes. He didn't register much more as the Dilophosaurus lunged at him.

The army was valiantly fighting the horde of Jurassic monsters but it was a losing battle. A crash from behind the two said that the raptors had broken in. "JUMP!" yelled Matt and the two leapt off the balcony, landing on the tarpaulin and falling through to land on a very surprised Raptor who was summarily knocked out as a result.

Matt was seeing stars from the impact, and felt pain in his side from where he hit the dinosaur's side. He gasped as he got up. The sickening stench of the carnivore filled his nostrils and nearly made him gag and vomit.

Screams and machinegun fire punctuated the evening alongside car alarms and the snarls and roars of the dinosaurs. A European army soldier dragged them up. "Go...get out of here." he yelled, firing into the hotel lobby with his E3000 carbine before a raptor leapt off the balcony onto him and began mauling him. Matt and Chloe didn't need telling again and ran for it.

...

That had been an hour ago and now they were almost out of this madness. The thumping of a helicopter's rotors could be heard just ahead. A military chopper was busy loading passengers to evacuate them away from the area. Matt and Chloe rushed toward the chopper, ducking from the wind of the rotor blades.

"Everyone onboard!" A soldier shouted over the din of the rotors. Another solider put his hand on Matt's back and guided them into the chopper. A second later a phalanx of Hailstorm fighters flew over the buildings in the distance, a second before a wall of flame shot skywards. Chloe began to sniffle. Matt put his hand on her shoulder as the chopper began to lift off the ground on the soldiers signal, turning to join the fleet of US and EFEC choppers flying for the edge of the city.

...

Razorfang sniffed the weird hard skull of one of the strange mammals. The other carnivores had already been through here and had not spared many of them. He and his pack had been confused when the strange landscape had suddenly appeared around them, populated with the strange mammals which had fled left and right in panic.

"Where are we?" One of the other raptors, Firestorm, asked to him. "One minute we're minding our own business, the next we're here." One of the other raptors was helping the pack healer, Soulstar along. She had taken ill a few minutes after their arrival in the strange land. Another one, Bladeclaw, Razorfang's second, snarled. "You would think we had wandered into their nest for all the fuss they are making...and what strange thing is this?" he said holding up an assault rifle before tossing it to the side.

"I think it may be a weapon," Razorfang said, "I saw several others of us who had fallen to them." A squeal was heard from an alley, causing the pack to spin. A spitter came out an alley what was obviously one of the new creatures' young in its mouth. It fled when it spotted the pack, leaving its kill. Bladeclaw sniffed it. "This is their nest. No wonder they are fighting," he said. "I see," Razorfang said.

Suddenly a small object on one of the bodies squawked and began making the noises that the mammals had. Soulstar moaned in pain until it stopped. "Soulstar, are you alright?" Razorfang asked. Soulstar moaned. "That...that thing spoke...they plan to burn this place...we have to flee," she said weakly. Sabertooth, one of the youngest betas, snarled. "We should leave her. She will slow us," he said.

Razorfang snarled and struck him with his tail. "No one in this pack gets left behind," he growled, "Not you, not Soulstar, no one." A dark entryway seemed to lead down. "Quickly," he said before a shriek got the pack's attention. Several metal birds flew past in the distance, a second before deafening explosions shook the ground. After that the pack needed no encouragement. Soulstar was too weak to look up and anyway, she didn't know what the Paris Metro was.

...

Matt looked out at the inferno that they had just come to visit. He felt a great sense of loss looking at it…all those people. How did everything come to this? He was jarred out of his thoughts by a loud shrieking. He turned and saw something that horrified him

Several flying reptiles were flying full speed at the chopper. The first two flew onto the chopper next to them, ripping through the front and plucking the pilot out. The stricken chopper spiralled into the inferno below. Another of the pteranodons rammed the chopper, shaking it. A trooper fell out and was grabbed by it and Chloe fell out, only just saved when Matt grabbed her hand. "Pull him in," yelled another civilian.

They began to pull with all their might. Another soldier shot at the pteranodons and rushed forward to pilot the chopper. Chloe was shrieking. "DON'T LET GO!" she yelled. Matt was trying to pull her in, not made easy by the shaky chopper and the fact his hand was sweating. "Hang on!" Matt shouted. But it wasn't enough. Chloe slipped from his grasp. She screamed as she fell to the ground. "Chloe!" he shouted.

Matt had to be dragged back in to prevent himself throwing himself out after her. More jets flew overhead, dropping their payload and in minutes, the dark city below was crisscrossed with lines of flames. "Chloe!" he shouted, hot tears falling from his eyes.

...

Razorfang and Bladeclaw walked up the steps out into the morning sun. The firestorm had come and gone, leaving blackened streets and the strange burnt out objects some of the mammals had been in.

"By the old ones, What madness possessed them to destroy their nesting grounds?" said Bladeclaw numbly as the rest of the pack came up.

Razorfang shook his head, "I don't know. But by the looks of things, they were in a panic. Something terrified them. Probably us." Bladeclaw shook his head. "We should go...the rest of the pack will be wondering..." he said before a whimper from near one the burning husks got the pack's attention. One of the mammals, badly burnt from the looks of things was leaning against it.

"What the?" Bladeclaw asked. "It's one of those mammals," Razorfang said, "And this one is injured." Bladeclaw sniffed it. "It won't survive these injuries," he said solemnly. Sabertooth sniffed at it. "At least it can feed us so we can make it out of this madness," he said.

"Make it quick," Razorfang said, "This one has suffered enough." Sabertooth was about to pounce when a voice rang out. "Stop!" Soulstar shouted. Razorfang looked over as the healer staggered over. "I...I think I can help her...I don't know how I know but..." Razorfang snarled. "Fine...be quick though." Soulstar knelt down and was surprised to find herself whispering in the mammal's language. It was like she was watching the event from the outside. "Be calm...I can help you," she said.

The others watched as Soulstar spoke to the mammal. Razorfang watched with intensity. As they watched, Soulstar's eyes began to glow almost solid sky blue and as she put one of her forearms on the mammal's forehead, that began to glow too. The glowing spread down and encompassed the small mammal. Soulstar seemed to snap out of it and jumped back as the light became blindingly bright.

The others did so as well. Razorfang growled at the pain in his eyes from the intense light. The pack covered their eyes with their forearms or turned away. Finally the light faded away to reveal, where the mammal had been, a juvenile female raptor that was snarling weakly. "By the old ones..." said Razorfang quietly. "What have you done to her?" Bladestorm asked.

"Soulstar, what did you do?" asked Razorfang, walking forward to sniff the new raptor. "Soulstar, you freak," Sabertooth said, "You turned that thing into a raptor. And an ugly one at that." Soulstar glared and it would have erupted in a full on fight had Razorfang not put his foot down...literally. "There will be enough time for this later," he snarled at them. The new raptor opened her eyes at that. "She's awake," Soulstar said.

Bladeclaw helped the new raptor to her feet. "What do you remember, dear?" she said soothingly. The new raptor looked around fearfully. "Where am I? Who are you?" she whimpered, nuzzling close to Bladeclaw. "I should ask the same thing," he said to her.

The young raptor looked over as Sabertooth came close to sniff her, snarling in fury at him. Soulstar smiled. "Well...she's a good judge of character, whoever she is... She cannot go back to her herd now, Razorfang." Razorfang nodded. "Do you have a name, my friend?" he asked her.

Sabertooth snarled at Razorfang. "You cannot be serious...she is not one of us. She will not replace Sarline," he snarled. Razorfang roared at this and pinned Sabertooth. "You will not mention her again," he said before letting him up. Sabertooth growled, but said nothing. Razorfang let him up. "Now, as I was saying, do you have a name?" he asked to her again.

The young raptor shook her head. "I can't remember anything," she whimpered. Bladeclaw cooed comforting noises to the young raptor. "It's ok, little Firestar," she said. "Firestar?" Sabertooth asked. Bladeclaw glared. "Is there a problem?" she said. Sabertooth rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else. "Let's go home," said Razorfang.

**End of prologue**


	2. Chapter 1

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being posted on a old forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Authors note: This story is completely unrelated to mine and Cydra's saga stories.**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Book 1**

**chapter 1  
**

If one had the opportunity to see the streets of London following the blast, the first thing that would come to mind is "nuclear holocaust". The streets and buildings were nothing more than piles of rubble. Overturned cars were scattered every five feet it seemed, and the sky was a dull orange pierced every once in a while by deadly lightning.

At first there had been lots of survivors...not all of them human. But over the years, while the rest of the world went to hell, people had vanished. The remains of the new commonwealths military had struggled and failed to maintain order. As far as Collins knew from fragmented radio chatter years ago, the European federation had its hands full.

Collins, a thickset Irishman with a gruff attitude and an eye for his surroundings, picked through the rubble, searching for anything that might possibly be of use. The rest of his group, holding scavenged weapons were looking around. "Hey, we should go. Those damn raptors probably raided this block ages ago. They've been a pain ever since they got the hang of tin openers."

"So it would seem," Collins said in his thick brogue, "I can't find a blasted thing in this rock pile." Collins finally managed to uncover the door to the old shopping mall's stock basement. It did look deserted. One of the group rushed forward...and vaporised as he tripped a claymore someone had set up. A raggedy guy in a shop uniform, holding a shotgun came up the steps. "THIS IS MY STASH! SOD OFF!" he yelled and fired wildly.

The rest of the squad ducked behind cover. Collins drew his M1911 and put a .45 slug right into the man's chest. The guy crumpled. "Damn...the whole world really is down the crapper," said Collins's brother, Alex. The basement had obviously been lived in for a while. Several skeletons in similar uniforms and a few in SWAT ones were lying around. "Cabin fever," said one, looking at a can of spaghetti.

"I'll say," Collins said, putting his gun away. Collins holstered his gun. "C'mon, let's get this stuff," He said, "Whatever's left." Just then, they heard the familiar thumping of a helicopter's rotors. Their lookout ran down. "It's a chopper...a Russian one. I knew those dino's were made by the Russians," he said, grinning. Alex smirked. "Told you not everyone was toast," he said to Collins. The group ran out to see a Hornet chopper hovering near the ruins of parliament. Several figures were seen abseiling down. At the same time, several energy bursts could be seen in the permanent cloud. "It's gonna earth."

"Everyone, head for cover!" Collins shouted. The guys quickly found some rubble piled high and dove behind it. The energy rounds smacked into pile, causing some chunks of rubble to drop down and nearly hit the men. Alex peered out. "Is it over?" he said before a fourth round shot into his chest. He seemed confused before shimmering into nothing. A minute later, several troopers in Russian Spetnaz Guard Brigade gear jogged round the corner, guns raised.

The squad snarled and loaded their weapons. Collins released the safety catch on his rifle and slipped a fresh clip into his M1911. Another group appeared on a rooftop, aiming down at them. The line separated to let a 22 year old white male, wearing a camouflage uniform and glasses. "Ok...which ones are the Collins brothers?" the person said, unphased by the guns.

"Who's asking, borsch sucker!" He shouted, angered by the sight of seeing his brother vaporized. The guy shrugged. "Vulture Brigade...FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE...put those guns down, men," he said turning to the others who reluctantly lowered their rifles. "We got your S.O.S.," he said turning back before spotting the scorch mark where Alex had been. He had a good idea what had caused it...10 of his men had been vaporised the same way upon landing.

"What the hell went wrong?" Collins asked, "My brother is dead." The guy turned and looked at him. "So's my sister, join the club. Now, there's a raptor pack between us and the evaq zone, wanna visit Minzk?" he said. The rest of the squad nodded approvingly. "If the deal comes with a five star hotel room and a four course dinner in the Winter Palace, then fine." The guy smirked. "You got it...name's Lynch, but everyone calls me Matt," he said. "Nice ta meet ye," Collins said.

...

The new group walked through the deserted streets, shining lights into darkened ruins and down alleys. A trooper with the nametag, 'Techo', on it said, "The pack's round the corner...damn," as he peered round the corner. The raptors seemed to have been literally torn apart. Some had also been burnt too. Matt stared. "What could have done this?" he said.

"I don't know," Collins said, "But whatever it was, it has power behind it." Collins approached the corpses. He prodded the largest one, the barrel of his gun flaking off bits of the charred flesh. The corpse suddenly hacked and turned to look weakly. The whole group immediately aimed at it. Matt walked up, pushing Collins's gun down. The raptors eyes had the tell-tale blue hue of a mutator variant dinosaur.

It reached under and produced a single egg and stared up at the humans before it. "Please..." she said weakly before falling still. The egg rolled across the tarmac and stopped against Matt's foot. Techo snatched a flamethrower off a soldier and aimed at it. "I always wanted omelette," he said till Matt raised a hand.

"Don't," Matt said. Collins was surprised. "What are you doing?" he said, "Are you on drugs or have you gone completely off your rocker?" Matt looked. "It's a kid. I'm a scavenger, probably mental and with access to the WMD weapons from WW3..But I'm not a kid killer...no matter the species. We can always hand him into the Coalition when he's hatched," Matt said. Techo shrugged. "Least he admits he's mad," he muttered to Collins as the evaq chopper flew overhead and landed at the end of the street.

...

The chopper buzzed over the North Sea until it came upon what at first appeared to be a massive artificial island. Soon, however, it turned out to be a massive aircraft carrier, complete with a sea of choppers littering its flight deck... the USS Darkus. Matt looked over at Collins. "You like?" he yelled over the chopper's engine. Several Russian Su-38 jets could also be seen through an open deck lift. "We got it off the Enclave." Techo, who was holding the egg laughed. "Well...we stole it actually...they weren't using it," he said as he caught Collins' gaze.

Collins kept thinking about the few close scrapes he had had with the raptors. Twice he nearly came close to ending up as the main course. He stared at the egg. He crossed himself. Matt noticed. "You wanna go live in the Coalition? Fine...you wanna kill that kid? Fine...just remember...I may hate dino's I've met...but not ones that haven't hurt me yet. If you touch that egg's contents before it does something to deserve it, you can swim to Europe," he said. The chopper finally landed and the team began to pile out. A few deck crew looked shocked but were silenced as Matt stared at them. It was obvious who was in charge.

Collins just scowled. He had seen the damage some of the reptilian bastards could cause, the almost pleasured look in their eye they got when they made the kill, as thought they enjoyed it. He kept a tight grip on his rifle. "I can tell," Collins said abruptly, "Give us a good reason to join you guys." Wilson smirked. "No meat eaters in our settlements. We get food from the farms but no dinos allowed in our towns, or even over the border." he said.

Collins smiled. "I suppose that's reason enough," he said. "What do you guys think?" Most of the squad agreed. One said, "Not a chance...if he really hated dino's then that egg would be omelette." Wilson glared. "He just judges guys by their actions," he said coldly. Obviously Matt was a popular commander. Collins nodded. "I guess we'll all in agreement then," he said, "We're in." Matt was behind them. How he'd gotten there wasn't known but it made most of Collins' squad jump. "Good to hear...wanna hear your first duty? A test as it were?" He waited then said, "You're on guard in the infirmary...the egg stays safe..." Collins hated the idea, absolutely despised it, but orders were orders. "Alright, men, let's go," he said.

...

That night, the crew were sitting in the guard station next to the infirmary. "This is dumb," said the person who'd mentioned the omelette comment. "We could easily get outta here. We shouldn't be taking orders from a guy like this Matt." A few others nodded in agreement.

"Zip it, all of you," A burly sergeant said, "Mouths shut and stay put." Collins said, "Orders are orders. The bad feelings lasted the rest on the night till a group of guys in EFEC commando gear relieved them. They came onto deck to see Copenhagen on the horizon. It was worryingly silent. "Don't worry, not many cars there, most vehicles are coalition military now," said a sentry.

"Understood," Collins said. The silence was still nerve inducing, however. He was still used to the sound of cars in the background. It was obvious as the ship docked, lowering landing ramps, that Vulture Brigade were not popular. Dozens of vehicles and troops lined the dock, aiming as shore parties went down. A few guys were passing out what looked like shirt lapels. Matt grabbed one and clicked it on. "Translators...I'd take one if I was you." he said.

Collins took one. "Technology, can't live with it, can't live without it." He quipped. He wasn't exactly technoliterate. It was clear what the translators were for as several Stenosaurus went by outside the gate. It was wierd for Collins and the others. Nobody was running in terror and nobody was being chewed on either. One made its wierd hooting to Matt who answered, the translator speaking over him in the right language.

"Well how do ya like that, eh?" A Canadian private said. "Dino soldiers." Collins said nothing. Matt turned and said with a smirk. "Nope...apparently just taking a walk to the parklands." A black african in a blue camo suit was standing nearby. "Commandant Anlios?" said Matt. The commandant spoke in a strong kenyan accent. "Commander...there was no expedition to the dead zone authorized...you should be careful...one day you will overstep your boundaries."

"So there wasn't." Collins said. "Better to overstep my boundaries than have my men starve." Matt turned. "He was talking to me...Englands quarantined...hell if I know why." he said as the Commandant and his aide walked off. A light beeped on what had seemed to have been his watch. Matt obviously knew its significance as he turned and headed for the Darkus.

A trooper was standing guard. "Alert went off in the infirmary." the guard said. Matt paid no attention to Collins and followed the guard. Collins followed him deep into the steel bowels of the ship. The tight corridors were suffocating to a field man like Collins. "Bloody hell." He said. "I hate ships."

The infirmary where Collins and his squad had guarded last night was the destination. A faint scrabbling could be heard from the other side. Matt drew his pistol and nodded to the others. Collins cocked his M1911 and held it in an iron grip. He stared straight ahead, ready for whatever it was that was scratching behind the door.

Matt released the seal on the door and slowly opened it. He clicked the light on and saw that the egg had hatched, as judged by the empty egg shell. "Great..." he said, looking under a table. He didn't hear the claws on the table behind him and was shocked when something the size of a chicken jumped into his arms. It was the baby raptor. The little baby squeaked happily and snuggled up to Matt.

"You are the man who would become daddy to the lizard." Collins said. "How amusing." Matt glared. "We're not keeping him." he said, putting the dinosaur on the floor, only to have it jump back up. The glare he gave everyone said simply that the first humorous comment would be a death offence

Collins buttoned his lip. "And, what do we do with him?" He asked. "I don't suppose you have a nice family to put him with." Matt shrugged, handing the raptor over to Techo, where it bit him. "GYAH...we can't give him to the coalition...they hate meat lizards...OW!" he said. Apparently the raptor knew enough already to recognize the usual insult name for dinos. The raptor jumped back to Matt. "This sucks..." he said, noticing that the raptor had one blue mutator eye.

...

The gang had headed into town. Matt had introduced Collins to the last of his team. Sonya, an asian teenage girl who the sniper of Matts team. "So he imprinted on you?" she said, tickling the raptor under its snout, making it squeak happily. "I say we keep him...he's kinda cute."

"Cute now." Collins said. "Then he gets big... and hungry." Collins got a grip on his pistol. Sonya shrugged. "My base has a friendly raptor clan nearby." she said in a matter-of-fact voice. Matt had wandered off for a minute and stopped when a guy stopped him. "Mr lynch?"

Matt stopped. "Who wants to know?" The guy grinned. "Derek Colson." Matt stopped. "Hmm...I knew one once...a 'not a very nice person' merc who tried to attack New Anchorage in Poland...we kicked his...oh dear." Matt said as he twigged...around the same time Colson aimed a rusty uzi in his face. "Least you remember me." Colson said and would have ended Matt there and then, hadn't the baby jumped on his shoulder and dug his toe claws in to the hilt.

Colson yelled and tried to throw the baby off, only for Matt, Techo, Wilson and Sonya to blow his head off. The baby jumped off the falling body and ran back to it, snarling angrily at it. Collins had drawn his M1911. He stared at the body for a few seconds before holstering it. "I guess we won't be needing him around." He said.

Matt prodded the body with his foot as Coalition MP's rushed in. "What the...what happened here?" Matt shrugged. "Someone wanted payback..." he said. The two troopers looked at the ex-Colson, matching the guys face to their wanted list before dragging him off.

The raptor had jumped up to Matt's shoulder. "Ok...that was useful...almost wanna keep the little fella." he said, "I say you owe him one." Collins said in jest as he shouldered his rifle. "Maybe some juicy filet mignon." He said. The raptor turned and Matt could have sworn it glared. "We could always give him to one of these clans that Sonya loves to mention..." he said.

Collins couldn't agree more. The faster they got the raptor out, the better, in his mind.

...

The groups transport was waiting outside Copenhagen's security walls. Four BTR-112 cockroach transports with the Russian insignia half-painted over. "What ya think?" Matt said, acting like the four old transports were new Lamborghini's. "They look quite mean." Collins said. True, the twin cannons mounted on the turret and the fearsome art painted on the turret itself gave the vehicle a menacing look.

One of Collins team said. "You sure you're not spetznaz?" Matt grinned. "Last I looked I wasn't." he said, climbing up the rear ramp of the lead transport. Collins shrugged and followed him in. He took a seat next to a burly looking soldier. "Hasn't been your day has it?" He asked, seeing the trooper's tired expression.

The trooper nodded as the ramp went up. "Just another day." he said. A shaking signalled that the small group was underway. After a while, Collins got up and slid a firing port open. The group was driving along a half-overgrown road between wild fields that bore some old resemblance to farm fields. A small group of hadrosaurs could be seen in the distance.

"Can't escape the lizards, can we?" He said to himself, loading a fresh clip into his rifle and cocking it. "Spoilin' for a fight are we?" The soldier asked. "Never hurts to be prepared," said Collins. Another trooper looked out. "Oh...they're plant eaters...they're ok...for them." he said, spotting the hadrosaurs. "What? you think that the deserted towns food stocks would still be good after 6 years?" he added with a smirk before snatching Collins' rifle and passing him an AK-74u off the transports rack. "Those are much better." he said.

"Uh, thanks." Collins said. He stuck the rifle out the port. Several of the hadrosaurs honked at the metal intruder that had invaded their space. At that, several human heads peered up, unseen previously due to the height of the crop. "Coalition farmers...figures." said the trooper. "I wonder how they put up with these guys eating their crops." Collins asked.

The trooper shrugged. "You saw those dino's back in the city...they're just as clever as us...kinda takes the fun outta hating them...almost." he said.

...

It was 4 hours later. The last human had been seen 2 hours previously...though the skeleton had been pushing that a bit. Collins tried to stay awake. He was beginning to grow weary from the previous day's mission. He nearly dozed off again, and slapped himself. The little raptor had fallen asleep in an empty helmet next to him. Nobody seemed bothered by him, except Techo who was eyeing it in shock. "You're awake then...you missed it." he said

Collins barely heard him. He was still fighting sleep. At this the raptor had woken up as well and wandered over towards Matt who was also asleep, his hat over his eyes. "Bro...ther..." it hissed before settling down next to Matt. Needless to say, that woke Collins up faster then a tanker full of coffee. "Did that thing just do what I think it did?" He said, his eyes as wide as an architeuthis.

Techo laughed. "Yeah...he has to stay now...if only for humour purposes and to wake up newbies like you." he said. The raptor woke up again with a chirp and looked at them with a now noticeable intelligent gaze. Techo laughed again. "That's the boss...could sleep through an air raid." he said as Matt mumbled something about mutant cabbages and turned over.

Collins just continued to stare at the raptor. "Can all these things talk?" He asked. Techo shook his head. "Nah...I think it can cause it's only half mutator...all the mutator dino's can talk like natives." he said. "Mutators?" Collins asked. "Oh...they're mutant versions of their species...they can turn humans into their type of dino...the Coalition uses them to punish dino killers. I dunno the details...something to do with the third energy explosion." said Techo, bored.

"Hmm." Collins said. Mutation didn't sound pleasant. Teco shrugged. "They can reverse it...before I joined VB...I had to spend a month as a gallimimus...it doesn't hurt...but it ain't fun." he said. Collins smiled slightly. "I'll take ye word for it." He said.

Techo glared. "Laugh it up..." he said angrily. Suddenly the transport shuddered to a sudden halt. Matt woke up with a yelp and the raptor fell down with a frightened eep. "What the hell?" he said as the ramp fell down. The troops all on unspoken words grabbed rifles, rocket launchers and other weapons before running down the ramp. They were on another deserted road in a snowy forest. There was also a transport missing. "Where the other transport?" said Techo, worried. He was answered as the said transport flew over the top of the trees on fire. "The hell?" said Matt

Collins heard what sounded like skittering on the top of the transport. It sounded like...  
"Bugs!" Someone yelled. "Huge ass ones!" It was a bug...a spider to be exact. Matt didn't recognize its species but when another transport turned its autocannons on it and effectively liquidized it, more of them skittered out the woods, spitting various things at the group. "This sucks...where's a giant rolled up newspaper when you need it?" yelled Matt, chucking an anti-tank grenade at another one.

"Those looked more like scorpions." A soldier said. "That's exactly what they were." Matt said. "Prehistoric sea scorpions. Very vicious, very deadly. They carry a potent poison." Matt looked as the rest of his troops drove the scorpions away with flamethrowers...right into the sights of four russian 'Ogre' tanks who turned their own flamethrowers on them. In a few minutes the insectoids were all dead. "Ok...shall we continue?" he said, "We must be close to Rovaniemi," he said. A few minutes later and a huge security wall, similar to Copenhagen's, came into view.

"I'll take it this is Rovaniemi." Collins said. "Looks like Fort Knox at Defcon 1." Matt smirked. "Used to be a Euro airbase...was overrun with t-rexs when we got here." he said as the transports rolled inside. "Now it looks like Airbase Rustoleum." Collins said. "Ever thought of giving it a paint job?" He asked.

Matt shrugged. "I like it like this...this is Techo's base anyway." he said. A few guards watched in surprise as the little raptor followed Matt into the base. "I swear that lizard thinks Matt's his dad." Collins said. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and followed them into the base. Wilson shrugged. "It keeps calling him 'brother' but who knows how those things think." he said.

"Brother hmm?" Collins thought. Then his stomach began to growl. He hadn't eaten since yesterday, and he was all out of rations. Wilson pointed. "Barracks are that way...food can be got opposite." he said, leaving Collins to settle in.

...

The next morning was more sunny, except for the arctic wind. Collins was first to notice that the wall facing into Russia was a lot more fortified, with even a few mounted TOW missile turrets mounted on the towers. "They're beefing up the wall." He said. "Are they that paranoid?" A trooper looked over at them. "You been into the Russia dead zone? Or have you been living under a rock?" he said before walking off, muttering.

"I must have been living under a rock." He said. "Care to enlighten the heathen?" The trooper muttered something in Russian and walked off. On cue the guns on the wall flared to life, firing at something unseen.

...

Collins walked towards where Matt was eating, intent on finding out what the hell they were camped next to. The little raptor was there again, eating what looked like sausage meat. "You mind telling me something?" He asked Collins. Matt looked up. "Like what?" he said rudely. "Like what in the seven circles of hell we're camped next to." He said. "It looks like a bloody fortress." Matt didn't answer him. "Hey, I think I see one of my men kissing your sister." He said.

Matt stood up and walked towards Collins till they were face to face. Had Collins been a bit calmer he would have seen how everyone was giving the two room. Matt suddenly swiped Collins legs out from under him and pressed his elbow on Collins neck. "We're not some poncy survivor colony...if you'd wanted that you shoulda stayed in Copenhagen...we're a fortress cause those scorpions from last night are puppies compared to what the Russia dead zone storm spews out...and if you talk like that again, you'll meet them first hand...clear?" he said.

Collins managed to choke out a "crystal." Matt took his elbow off of his neck. Collins took a deep breath. Matt waited as Techo and Wilson helped Collins up. "Since you're so curious...you're on patrol in that area...something's stirred up the locals...so you're going to Chernobyl to see what's going on." he said. The raptor leapt down and followed Matt out.

"Oh, wonderful." He said. "The hotbox of the East." He said. The Chernobyl area was still hot with radiation from the accident so long ago. Wilson said. "Not exactly Chernobyl. There was a survivor settlement set up near it recently...on the hot zone border...comms went dead a night ago...ah well...good luck." he said and walked out too

...

Collins assigned men were waiting near a squad of 'badger' transports. "Man...the boss must be mad to put that newbie in charge." said one, getting a few chuckles. His name was Pvt Donalds according to his tag. "Quiet." Collins said as he boarded one of the transports. He grunted as he sat down. He did not like the idea of going anywhere near Chernobyl.

The area behind the east wall looked like something from a fantasy novel. Some of the eyes peering out from the forest around the road were definitely not human or dinosaur...only a few had two eyes. "I don't like this at all." Collins said. Whatever was hiding in the shadows, they gave him the creeps.

The ride seemed to go on forever, strange noises and snarls coming from the undergrowth all the time. Finally a town could be seen. "About time." said Donalds. "I'll say." Collins said. "Alright, everyone keep your eyes peeled. I don't want any ambushes." The town was a mess. A few younger versions of the scorpions from the previous day were munching on what looked like one of the residents and fled as the transports approached, but apart from their lunch, there were no bodies or blood. Nothing to show a struggle had taken place.

"This is too weird." Collins said. He loaded his rifle and held it in front of him, keeping his eyes peeled for anything. After half an hour, it was clear that the party had been missed as far as a fight went. Whatever had hit the town had finished long before. "This is useless. Maybe they just headed for Coalition territory?" said Donalds, after checking the 15th empty house.

A whirring noise came from the nearby alley at that and a boxy droid rolled out into the open. "What the? It's one of those fancy American robot jobs." One of the soldiers said. Collins nodded. He held his rifle high at the drone, in case it was hostile.

It was. The drones chaingun barked and dropped three men in red clouds before anyone realised it had fired. At the same time, 3 more drones rolled out of hiding places, firing at the team. "Cover!" Collins yelled. The soldiers hide behind walls, buildings, anything that looked like it would protect them from bullets.

Not much of the buildings helped. "The transports...their missile turrets will rip those things apar...gak!" said one trooper next to Collins a second before a round shot through his throat. "Damn it all!" Collins roared. "Anybody have anything that can kill these things?"

"We gotta get back to the badgers." yelled a trooper. Another peered out and yelled. "Rockets!" One of the drones had rocket pods mounted on the side of the turret. It fired a random shot, aimed to knock troops out of cover. "Stay down!" Collins shouted as the rocket impacted. "Everyone on me!" He shouted. The soldiers, trying to stay in cover, formed up on him. "Let's go!" He said, making a run for the Badgers.

The group all ran out, the drones turned slowly to aim better. A rocket landed near a few of the gang, scattering them. Collins was first to the transports, climbing in and pressing any button he saw to try and power the weapons up. The rest of the soldiers barely made it in alive. "Get those turrets online!" Collins shouted.

One, a transport driver, pushed him aside and pressed a button. At that, the blue dish mounted between the missile launchers fired a rippling pulse with a painful screech. The reaction was impressive as two of the drones exploded there and then. The third let out a plume of smoke and stopped. The fourth however, the one with the rockets was fine and kept shooting till the driver pressed another and a TOW rocket blew it in half.

"Nice shooting." Collins complimented him. The rest of the squad stepped out again, in time to see a guy in a black version of the armour that the JSF used, running for it. A guy next to Collins fired a shot into the guy's back, dropping him. "Gotcha." He said. "See you in hell." Collins just wiped his brow. "What are the Americans doing out here?" He wondered aloud.

The group walked up to the prone body. The guy in the armour wasn't American. His armour had a snake head symbol on it and the words 'Vipercorp Security' on it. But the best was next. The eyes were still open, staring into oblivion but that wasn't the creepy part…they were reptilian...

**End of chapter 1**


	3. Chapter 2

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter 2  
**

Donalds looked down at the body with its reptile eyes. "That...that ain't possible, man," he said in a shaking voice.

Collins just stared. "I don't what that is, but I can tell you this much. It's not from this world," he said. _'I hope to God it's not some kind of new menace,'_ he thought.

One of the troopers pulled up the guy's sleeve and spotted a place on his arm where an IV drip had been and a Rolex on the guy's wrist. "You sure bout that sir?" he said.

"What in the seven circles of hell?" Collins asked, "Who did this?" He wondered aloud. "I don't know, but whoever it was, they're nuts. Who would want to make human/dino hybrids, except for war?"  
Donald and the rest of the troopers turned and looked like Collins had just said he was a florescent chicken, "Erm...you have seen the state of affairs in the world...right?" said one.

"All I know is chaos," said Collins, "I don't really pay attention to the fine details anymore."  
"We need to call this in," said Donalds, "Where's the comms operator?"

Andie, the team sniper pointed. "He was hit by a drone rocket so he's over there...and over there...and you're also standing in him," he said, causing Donalds to look down, go pale green and run off to vomit.  
Collins frowned. "Get me the comm gear," he said, "I'll call this in myself."

A soldier grabbed him the comm gear, and he began to try and raise headquarters. He stopped when the receiver fell apart. "Dammit," he swore.

Andie said, "It'll be 24 hours before we're declared overdue...who's on first watch?"  
"Me, sir," Donald's said, having recovered from his vomiting fit.

Collins nodded. "Alright, take watch," he ordered.

The team set up shop in the old town hall, which was just a converted bunker left over from WW3. Everyone except Collins was nervous, given they know the sort of things in the Russia dead zone.  
"This place gives me the creeps," one of the soldiers said. Another seconded his remark.

"Quiet you two," Collins said, "You want to stay alive, don't let anything hear you."

Shadows could be seen moving in the dark outside the facility. Donalds and Collins stood just outside. "I don't get it...why is the Enclave taking people?" said Donalds.

"What Enclave?' Collins asked. He kept a careful eye out for intruders.  
Donalds turned to Collins. "You know how the Coalition's the remains of the Euro federation? The Enclave's the remains of the US government," he said simply, "They're isolationists. They guard their end of the Atlantic tunnel insanely. Nobody knows what's happened there."

"The Lindbergh policy," Collins said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" One of the men asked.  
"Charles Lindbergh," Collins said, "Fiercely isolationist, opposed every foreign policy FDR ever passed. Thought the US should not have any diplomatic relations with anyone."

Donalds nodded. "Think I looted a book bout him...nah...I was on the last team to be turned back. I swear they had CDC gear, it's a quarantine," he said.

"Disease outbreak?" Collins asked. He hadn't heard of any major outbreaks in a while.  
"Doubt it. We got GPS scans. It's the same as everywhere else...Jurassic central," said Donalds.

"So I see," Collins said. He kept his eyes peeled for any more surprises.

...

The rest of the night passed silently, apart from a few scorpions that hung around outside the range of their camp lights. Help had turned up finally and Matt was looking at the cadaver of the strange trooper. "And you say this guy had a load of drones at his beck and call?" he said to Collins.  
Collins nodded. "Commanded the bloody things like the wizard commanded the brooms with washbuckets," he said.

The doctor, a Dr. Willis, came in. "I went over the blood...it was definitely human DNA originally," he said.

Matt looked down at the body, "No...nobody's got that technology...how was it done?"

Dr. Willis shrugged, "I have no idea. It wasn't a mutator that did it, that's for sure."  
Collins took this all in. "I did hear rumors," he said.

Matt turned. "And what did you hear?" he asked.

"Some giant corporation was engaged in freakish research," said Collins, "Did stuff with people's genes, mixed them around, inserted new ones."

Matt nodded. "Vipercorp? They shut down their biolabs a year before the third energy disaster...hell, they were the ones who designed the reactor," he said.  
"That's them," Collins said, "But I heard all their experiments were failures."

Matt shook his head. "Dr. Willis is probably the last of their R&D staff, the rest were all in London, so they're probably busy being dead," he said.  
"I should hope so," Collins said, "I get the feeling they didn't have much respect for ethics."

Dr Willis sighed, "I'm afraid not. I was the one who alerted the W.H.O* to their experiments."

Collins nodded. "So what's our next move?" he asked.

The raptor was digging around looking for food. Collins noted the raptor was larger than last time he'd been seen. Matt and the others didn't seem bothered that the raptor was now knee height. The raptor finally got onto Willis's desk and ripped his lunch box open to get to the doctor's sausage roll before running off with it, chased by the yelling doctor.

Matt sniggered then said, "We tell the Coalition. Maybe call the Enclave to tell em to get out of our territory...that kinda thing," he said.  
Meanwhile, the perimeter patrol was responding to a motion sensor being tripped. What none of the squad noticed was a dark form gliding around through the underbrush. Collins scanned the treeline and saw nothing out of the ordinary. However, he couldn't shake the feeling...  
"AAAHHHHH!" Someone cried out. They all whipped around and saw a soldier's face erupt in a spray of blood and brain as he was dragged off. Another figure, looking like an anthro T-Rex reared up, two strange boxes on his wrists. The 'boxes' immediately fired on the perimeter crew, wiping most of them out but not before the alarm began to sound.

...

Matt looked up as the alarm began to wail. "WHAT THE HELL IS IT NOW?" he shouted, walking towards a cabinet, looking for something. Collins just cocked his rifle and ordered the men to form up on him. Matt got back up, holding what he'd been searching for: a Rx4 Storm rifle and followed.

A trooper said, "Sir...it's hell out there. You don't wanna go outsi..." only for Matt to push him aside.

"Like hell I'll let you tell me who I can't fight," he said, taking the lead.  
"Dammit you idiot, don't be a hero!" Collins shouted.

But Matt didn't seem to hear him, or care. "Bloody hell..." he muttered. Outside was chaos. Several strange creatures in armour made from what looked like tank plating were gunning down the base personnel that had come with Matt. The tank they'd brought was already burning.  
"Who the hell are these guys!" A soldier shouted.

"Beats the hell out of me, but who cares!" Collins shouted, trying to aim for the parts the armor didn't cover. "Fire!"

The creatures ignored most of the fire and were ignoring the raptor, even when it leapt on one and tried to maul it. The T-Rex mutant aimed its right arm at the building where the body was and an energy burst blew it apart, killing the soldiers near it. At this the mutants lost interest and headed back into the forest.  
Matt slowly got back to his feet, painfully. "I get the feeling we were onto something there," he said.

"I'll say," Collins said, "Alright, everyone on me." The soldiers who were still ambulatory formed up on him.

Matt looked at him and waved a hand, getting the soldiers to stop. "Ok...I'd say you definitely earned your stripes. 12th Airborne will need a new boss, there's a vacancy," he said, looking at a red patch under some rubble.

"12th who?" Collins asked, "You're asking me to command a regular army outfit?"  
Matt shrugged. "Not a desk job. I expect my staff to pull their weight and to know one end of an assault rifle from the other," he said, "Oh...and all the staff are in the elite squad...Death's Head." He pulled out an access card. "You want the job or not?...DAMN!" he said as the raptor, thinking it was food swallowed the card. "Erm...there will be a slight delay in your promotion," he said as the raptor burped happily.  
Collins thought for a moment. He chafed at the idea of serving under a military bureaucracy, but the idea of a steady job in these times was appealing. "Sure, I'll take it," he said.

Matt sighed. "Ok...you may have to wait till your card...reappears," he said.

Collins wrinkled his nose, "Yeah, sure."

...

The transport ride finally came to a halt, opening out to a small valley filled and bordered by various buildings, the lead one having a pair of satellite dishes. "Fort Levski, more or less our base camp, the main base is underground," said Matt, leading the way toward a concrete door in the side of the hills. The base itself was a hive of activity.  
"There's quite a bit of activity," Collins said, "Welcoming party?"

Matt shook his head. "This is our command centre...it's always like this," he said, leading the way into the base.

An aide passed Matt a communiqué. "Third camp hit, sir...but we got picture footage this time. Looks like some kinda mutants," the guy said.

Matt and Collins stopped as a yell was heard from the door. They ran back to see the guards aiming at the raptor. "Hey! Leave Striker alone!" yelled Matt.  
Collins grabbed one of the guards' guns. "Do what he says pal," he said, "I think he's grown fond of this little guy."

The raptor cowered behind Matt. Striker, as the raptor was obviously called, hissed at the guards and said, "Brother the boss." The guards looked at each other and walked off, one muttering that Matt had finally lost it.  
Collins shook his head. "How in the name of all things holy is that thing speaking?" he muttered.

Techo shrugged. "All the mutators can speak...guess he inherited the ability," he said.

Collins wrinkled his nose. "As long as he doesn't bite me, I'm happy," he said.

Striker hissed at him. "No call me lizard then," he said.  
"Alright fine," he said quickly, "Bloody hell, I can't believe I'm talking to a dinosaur," throwing his arms in the air.

Matt and Techo laughed. "Welcome to the future then."

Collins followed the others over to a brick building with the words 'canteen' painted above the Russian equivalent. "We don't have fancy food like the Coalition does but it's probably better then what you had to find in the Britain dead zone," said Techo.

Collins shrugged, as long as it was hot, he could care less who made it. He was pleasantly surprised to find normal food on the table. Not an MRE in sight.

Matt walked up behind him. "The men's families live here too...and the Coalition trade us food for us making sure nothing visits from the Russian dead zone," he said before looking at the food on offer. "Oooh...macaroni cheese day," he said, grabbing a few sausages for Striker.  
"As far as I'm concerned, it's manna from heaven," Collins said, as he sat down. Indeed, after everything that had happened, he wouldn't mind shoving back some crusty army food, but this was a four star feast.

Striker jumped onto the table opposite Collins, chewing on a sausage. Matt sat next to him. "Ok...so...how are we gonna handle this? If we go to the Coalition with humanoid dino's then they'll be sizing us up for straitjackets before we finish our reports."  
"We'll have to bring the dino-men to them," Collins said."

The soldiers all looked at him. "You don't mean..." one of them began.

"Yep," Collins said, "We'll have to go do a little hunting."

Matt glared. "They got damn anti-tank weapons. I will not send my men on a kamikaze," he said. "Who said we're going to attack them?" Collins said.

"Even I'm not that reckless... or stupid," said Matt.

"No, I have a better idea," said Collins.

"This had better be phenomenally good," said Matt.  
"We lure one here," Collins said, "And we trap him."

The other soldiers were incredulous, "And how do you propose we do that?"

"Simple," Collins said, "We find one that's not with his buddies."  
Matt sighed. "Hell...that's about as likely as a chocolate flamethrower: permission denied. You're going in with your force to investigate these attacks. The next town in line is here," he said, pointing to a map he'd rolled out, "We passed their farming team on the way to Rovaniemi...remember those dino's?"

"Those huge honking ones," said Collins "With the damn goose noses? Yeah, how could I forget? They stand out like sore thumbs." The little raptor looked up at him, a sausage still hanging from his mouth.

Matt sighed. "Stop staring at Striker and go check out those attacks…NOW!" he said.

...  
**  
New York.**

**Enclave-controlled territory**

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The scientists, who had been busy studying their notes and research, jumped up at the sound of the pounding on the door leading to their lab. Their hearts felt like they were going to jump out of their throats and bounce across the floor. The door pounded again, leading them to cautiously ask who it was.  
"Open up, dammit!" A gruff voice yelled, startling them even more. Dr Jonathan Harris sighed and opened the door to reveal the angry form of General Slaton, head of the Enclave's special weapons division.

"Good evening, General?" said Dr. Harris.

Slaton brushed it aside by grabbing Harris' collar. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked, "I expected you to be done with this experiment yesterday." Harris flinched at the General's angry roar. "You mind telling me what the hell happened back there, you white-coated moron?" Slaton snarled. Harris sighed. "I warned you that Commander Lynch would take an interest if we kept our recruitment teams in one place for too long..." he said and was cut off.

"I don't care. I won't cover for you next time...got me? Then you can sell your lizard men to the Coalition for all I care," said General Slaton and stormed out.

Harris was miffed. He gave the General the finger as he left. "Slave driver," he said, "What does he expect from us, perfection? We're not gods."

His wife nodded. "No...after all...we should know..." she said with a smirk and getting out a strange orb from a locked cabinet. "Talking of which, he wants a status report," she said.

"What's there to tell? Vulture Brigade nearly discovered our plans," he sighed, "And we're running out of time."

A dark shape appeared in the orb and said, "Yes...you were foolish." Harris nearly had a heart attack at that. He'd known that this orb allowed him to communicate with the specimen but not that it could be activated from the other end at will. The shape said, "You lost several of my minions and put our plans in jeopardy. If you fail me again...it will not go well for you...understand?"

"Y-Yes, My lord," Harris said, "I shall make better use of them."  
"You'd better, or else I'll have to practice mine... on you," said the dark shape. The orb went dark, signifying that the specimen had disconnected the connection and was gone.

Harris turned to his wife. "Adalinda, call the others," he said referring to Dr's Harrington and Layton. "We need to finish soon..." he said.

**End of chapter 2**


	4. Chapter 3

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum**** and is used with his permission**

**Third Energy Chronicles**

**Chapter 3**

_Vulture Brigades responsibilities in their alliance with the Coalition included salvaging old world tech...but also in protecting the towns near their borders. Despite the geological upheaval that had created a natural barrier in the form of mountains, creatures from the wilds still slipped into Coalition territory to wreak havoc. Sometimes we responded in time...sometimes we didn't..._

_Excerpt from personal log of __Cmdr Lynch, Leader of Vulture Brigade_

_...  
_

For the people of Vulture Brigade, the second worst job by far had to be patrol between the various towns, though the absolute worst...which was response, also known as 'carrion cleanup'. No team was fast enough to respond to Code Red's such as the ones Kiganivok had sent out and the sort of attackers that attacked from the dead zone weren't there for valuables.

...

Collins grimaced as he had to move aside another cadaver. "I tell you, if it's not the smell that's terrible, it's all these blasted flies," he griped as he swatted the swarm of carrion flies that were buzzing around him. It was clear that whatever had come through had met business. Burnt out vehicles from the town's militia had been in what was left of a firing line formation just outside the town itself.

"Look on the bright side," said another soldier, "Not as many bodies to clean up this time."

"Yeah, too few," said another.

A third trooper called out, "I would not be so sure about that. Come and look at this."

Collins and the others ran over to see one of the saurian hybrids slumped in a corner, riddled with bulletholes. Collins took his rifle and poked the body a few times. He was pretty sure it was dead, but he hate to have been wrong later. "This accounts for the lack of bodies," said Collins, "Either his friend ate them, hopefully unlikely, or they took them." Collins then noticed something he'd seen the last time...a symbol. "Vipercorp again," he said to himself before turning to a trooper, "Lynch'll wanna hear this. Get a line open."

...

Meanwhile, Matt was getting a lesson on parenthood...the hard way. "Now, Striker, I want you to be a good boy and...hey, wait, no, GET BACK HERE!" Striker in question made an excited chirp and jumped onto a shelf, just out of reach. Collins and Wilson arrived at the door to his room in time to hear Matt say, "That is it...I'm getting the broom."

"Trouble with rats?" asked Wilson.

"Yes, rats, rats with very sharp teeth and can walk on two legs," said Matt, clearly not in the mood for a joke. Collins and Wilson looked in to see Striker on the shelf, curling up for a nap. If they didn't know it was impossible for saurians, they could have sworn Striker was smirking.

"Uh, I've got the briefs from the...cleanup mission," said Collins, "And I think there's something that would interest you."

Matt nodded. "I read it...until Striker decided to teeth on the file," he said in a barely calm voice before adding, "This is twice now. What the hell is Vipercorp up to?"

"Beats me," said Collins, "But if I had to guess, they're doing some bio-warfare or supersoldier project or something."

"Great...what is it about the end of the world that attracts the wacko's from out of the woodwork?" said Wilson.

"I don't know, but I bet the Coalition Council will want to hear about this," said Matt, "I'll take the reports myself."

...

The Council however didn't seem to agree with Matt's approach. "So...according to this, you are recommending we allow your men to sweep Coalition territory for mutants that your men probably blew out of proportion," said a French council member.

"They're not blown out proportion," said Matt, "Well, maybe blown up a little, but they're very real. A Gallimimus councilmember made several squeaking noises, translating as a question as to evidence. Matt gulped at that, given that he'd told his men to incinerate the bodies. "Uh, did I mentioned the 'blown up' part?" asked Matt. The council murmured among each other when Matt spoke.

"How do we know this isn't a trick? I personally never trusted you. You're just official raiders in my book," said another council member.

"And what would we gain from tricking you?" asked Matt.

"More supplies, us more dependent on you," said the same council member.

"Well yeah, there's that," said Matt, "But I really am telling the truth. We could be up to our necks in trouble if Vipercorp's gonna unleash these things as an organized army. We have to strike now before they attack us. And if I'm wrong, may a carnivore bite me."

It was at that moment when Matt regretted bringing Striker along, if only because he had started wailing as soon as Matt had started walking towards the chopper. He woke up, looked around dozily and spotted what looked like five little sausages. Striker licked his lips and snapped at what he presumed to be his lunch.

The council watched as Matt's eyes went wide for a second and he got a strained look. "Are you alright?" said a mutator dino council member.

Matt said in a strained voice, "Perfectly...fine...council."

"What is it that you have in your hand?" asked the council member.

"Or is it the other way around?" said another council member, causing several members to laugh.

Matt glared. "Fine...give me authorization to send a team into Paris. The Vipercorp headquarters there will have what we're looking..." he said before a council member said harshly, "Absolutely not. The raptor clans there are perfectly peaceful and we don't need your gorillas marching through there stirring them up."

"Gorillas?" said Matt in an insulted tone.

"You will not enter Paris...are we clear? We supply most of the Brigade's food," said another council member, harshly, adding, "Understand?"

Matt sighed and said, "Yes, sir." He added under his breath, "But don't come crying to me when you're getting strangled by a hybrid."

...

Back at Fort Levski, The others were surprised when Matt came back with a fully-bandaged hand and Striker looking like he was in the dog house...metaphorically speaking. "So...how did it go?" said Sonya.

Matt said, "Not well...so we're going anyway...just a small unit...just us."

"Okay...any weapons?" asked Techo.

"Just guns, we go in nice and quiet. If we're quick, we can be in and gone before the clans or the Coalition know we've even been there," said Matt.

"You're presuming we'll be having infallible luck," said Collins, "Which, in my experience, no one has."

"I've been there before. I know a good few side alleys off the main streets," said Matt.

Techo said, "It's only a few liz...raptors," cutting off the usual slang word for saurians when Striker looked at him curiously.

"In case you've forgotten, raptors are among the smartest of the carnivores," said Matt, "And you don't need to be reminded how unfriendly they are towards strangers, particularly humans. Most of the clans'll just munch us on site. The satellite scans we got say that the area around the tower is where they have most of their nests."

Techo said, "But that's near to..."

Matt finished, "...Vipercorps European HQ."

"Coincidence?" suggested Sonya.

"Doesn't matter...not to mention that the annual energy storm seems to be forming over the city. We'll go in at night...less chance of being caught," said Matt.

"You sure you know what you're doing with this?" asked Collins.

"I was in one of the last evacuations at the start of the 'black months'. We're wheels up in 12 hours," said Matt.

...

In the ruins of Paris, the raptors had built a somewhat-civilized society. True, it was more of a hunter/gatherer society, but at least they weren't tearing each other apart. The multiple napalming of Paris had mostly caused damage to the streets themselves.

Many shops, although their store fronts had been destroyed, still had intact store rooms and most of the 'gathering' was from them. Most of the newer hatched raptors would ask who had built the city originally only to have the elders change the subject.

Some of the raptors have engaged in a type of archaeology to learn more about the city they now inhabit and the beings who built it. Firestar had been the one to start it, having shown the most curiosity, something that many of the older pack members said was unhealthy.

However, Firestar could not be discouraged. Something about these buildings ringed familiar, but she couldn't quite remember what. She figured that if she kept exploring, she'll eventually remember. Their current subject of investigation was a building they thought may have been a place of worship, called 'Starbucks'. A young tiger-striped raptor called Varix, said, "I wonder who this 'Java' was? It must have been very important," as he peered into an old coffee jug.

"He must have been a healer of some kind, judging from all these potions," said Firestar.

Another female raptor, called Tigris, picked up one of the old jars full of beans and munched on some. "I don't see what all the fuss is GNNNNNXKLXKCDKVC!" she said before suddenly spouting nonsense and jittering.

The others stared at Tigris. "Are you alright?" asked Firestar.

"NEVERBETTER,IFEELSOENERGETIC. HOWABOUTARACEAROUNDTHECITY?"

Firestar sighed before seeing Varix looking shifty and one of the jars of strange white orbs marked 'Marshmallows' open. "What have you eaten?" she said in a tired voice.

Varix shrugged and said in a muffled voice, "Nofing," his mouth clearly full.

Firestar put a paw over her face and said, "Can we please stop eating strange things until we know what they are?"

Varix gulped down his mouth's contents. "What about Tigris?" he said accusingly before adding, "Erm...where IS Tigris?"

Firestar looked around to see that Tigris was gone. "Oh great," she said, "Where did she go now?"

"Uh, I think she said something about wanting to do a race," said Varix.

"You managed to catch that in all that gibberish?" asked Firestar.

Varix shrugged before ducking down behind the desk. Firestar turned to see several lights in the street before jumping over the desk after Varix. It was just in time too as a half dozen humans walked into view, wearing the strange carapaces their warriors preferred.

"Hmm, more humans? I wonder what they're up to," said Firestar.

The next shock for Firestar came as another raptor came into view. Judging from its size, it was barely a few months hatched. "What's that hatchling doing with them?" asked Varix.

One of the humans spoke in a filtered voice, "How far to the tower? Sooner we're gone, the better. This place is creepy."

"You're telling me," said another, "No telling what else lives here. Raptors, I can deal with. Monsters are something else."

The first guy nodded at the hatchling, "He'll make sure we're not ambushed."

Firestar growled and said, "So, they're using him for a hostage? Not while I'm around."

Varix grabbed her. "Are you crazy? We need to tell the alpha about this," he said.

"By the time we get to him and he gets a hunting party together, the humans could be long gone by then," said Firestar, "You've heard the stories about what the humans have. They're heading for the nesting grounds. We can beat them there easily."

Varix sighed. "You're Razorfang's daughter, I doubt he'd let you stay behind," he said.

...

Matt shone a light into a small side street, a burnt out BMW in it. He sighed as the light shone on a skeleton in the car wreck. "Huh, it stayed in pretty good shape, considering," commented Wilson.

"Yeah...the whole city got flooded with napalm," said Matt, "Nobody got out of the city without a loss."

"If that's true, then how comes there are still raptors here?" asked Collins.

"They probably hid in the metro," said Matt, shining a light into a shop front in time to see several compy's duck out of sight. "It's not just raptors we have to worry about," he said.

"You're kidding, right?" said Techo, "Those things are only as big as chickens."

"You never watched Jurassic Park, did you?" said Matt.

"Wasn't that much into dinosaur films, at least before the...event," said Techo.

"The black months. Fun, fun, fun," said Matt, before shining his light down another side street. Wilson said, "Ok...this way. We'll come out a side street across from the Headquarters."

"Ok, what kind of exterior security will they have?" asked Collins.

"It was military standard. Blastdoors on par with the Levski bunkers...Auto-guns at the main vault...scuttling charges in the case of terrorist takeover...the usual," said Techo, casually.

"And I suppose you've already found a way around them," said Collins.

"I doubt anyone was left to turn on the burglar alarms during the evacuation," said Techo.

"And the chances of someone coming back?" asked Collins.

"Zero. Alot of people were starving and dying during the black months while you and your buds were in London," said Techo. Collins gave Techo a cold glare.

"Let's not open up old wounds," said Matt before a serious argument could start.

The group carefully ran down the side street towards the main street leading up towards the Eiffel Tower. Striker suddenly stopped before running behind Matt. "Ok..." said Matt softly, before pulling a flare out of his armours chest pocket and throwing it. The light lit up a row of raptors in front of the tower, looking at them.

"Uh, maybe we should think about an alternate route," said Wilson.

The row of raptors all started hissing, shielding their eyes from the flare's light or snarling in the group's direction. Matt and the others all aimed at them while a mutator raptor, evident from its blue eyes walked from the line. The raptor growled and spoke, "You have something that does not belong to you."

Matt glared and aimed at the raptor, "I don't think so. We're just here for what's in that building across the way."

The raptor growled louder and said, "You're not going anywhere until you hand him over."

Matt clicked off the safety on his pistol. "Like I said...nothing of yours," he said. Striker stared out from behind Matt and shivered.

The raptors all growled at that. "And...the window of diplomacy just slammed shut," said Techo.

Matt gulped. "Guys...run," he said before the raptors charged at them. The group ran for the headquarters' building, Matt hitting a red button, just inside which caused a siren to wail and a heavy chunk of steel to shoot down over the door.

"Ha, that oughta show those dumb lizards," said Wilson. He turned to Striker and said, "Present company excluded."

Techo ran around to the receptions monitor, "Bad news. A few of the blast doors shorted. The skylight and fourth floor window shields failed."

Collins snorted, "Huh...like some dumb lizards can get on the roof."

Suddenly, the sound of talons scratching came from above that. Matt glared at Collins and said, "Would you like salt to go with those words you just ate?"

Techo said, "Don't worry. They can't climb ladders."

Matt said, "I'm not taking chances. Where's the mainframe?"

Techo typed something before saying, "Basement."

"Great, anyone got a drill I could borrow?" asked Matt sarcastically.

Techo typed a few buttons before looking smug. "I just told the computer that there was a fire in the basement. It's opened all the emergency doors there to allow easy evacuation," he said.

"As in the emergency doors we just shut?" asked Wilson.

"No...just the internal ones. How many times have we done this at army bases in Russia?" said Techo.

Matt grinned with Wilson and said, "What about the time you nearly fired a nuclear missile into a silo door?"

Techo glared and said, "Well, I assumed they would automatically open."

Striker said worriedly, "Striker not like other raptors."

Matt said, "Yeah...I'm guessing they meant you."

"So why couldn't we give him back to them?" asked Collins, "He'd probably be better off with his kin."

Striker hissed at Collins and got closer to Matt. "I think that answers that," said Matt, before shooting the lock off the door to the stairs.

"Uh, how do we know there aren't any monsters down there?" asked Wilson.

"Oh, don't tell me you believe horror movies," said Collins.

"He's right. Third energy does weird things to wildlife. Everyone be careful. This place may have...rats," said Matt.

"I'm assuming you're not referring to the kind you set terriers on," said Collins.

"Nope...more like rats the size of German Shepherds," said Matt, pressing a button on his wrist and making a blade the size of a K-Bar knife shoot out.

Collins gulped and said, "Well, as long as they don't have some mutant disease."

"Actually, it's a plague rat's fleas that carries the disease, not the actual rat," said Techo.

Wilson said, "Don't worry about the fleas...the spiders probably got em all." Collins didn't feel much better about that.

...

Meanwhile, the raptors had quickly found getting in through the doors wasn't an option, so they decided to wait until the humans eventually came out. Firestar, however, didn't agree. "We can't just wait for them out here. All these old nests are full of human food. They can stay there for a few seasons in comfort while we're cold out here," she said to Razorfang.

"There's nothing else we can do," said Razorfang, "Unless you know how to break through the cold stone."

"What about the roof? Many of these nests have holes in the roof. I think the humans called them 'skylights'. We could climb up and drop on these egg stealers," said Firestar.

Razorfang glared. "And how did you find this out, given that you are forbidden to wander off?" he said.

"Um, well..." said Firestar, "Would you believe I've been having these...flashes?"

"Not a chance. You know how dangerous these dwellings are? Remember when you ate something called 'coffee'? It took you a moon cycle to run the energy off," said Razorfang, accusingly.

"Er, speaking of which, I think Tigris got into the same stuff," said Varix.

Razorfang glared. "Go back to the hatchery. When we have made sure these thieves are going nowhere I will return," he said.

Firestar growled and started stomping away. Varix followed behind her. "I can't believe you're taking it that easily," he said.

Firestar turned to smirk as well as a raptor could. "I thought Father had learnt that hatchlings never listen. Come on," she said.

"But how can we get up there?" asked Varix, "We're not built for climbing."

"Remember those strange stairs on the side of that building that we found last full moon? I bet a place like this has the same thi...WHOA!" said Firestar before jumping back as Tigris shot into view.

"WOWYOU'!" she yelled at the duo.

"Uh, I think she wants us to follow her," said Varix. Tigris said "OFCOURSEIDOWHATCAN'? before shooting off down a alley.

Firestar turned to Varix and asked, "Did I really act like that when I ate that coffee?"

Varix said, "Nope..."

Firestar sighed and said, "Thank the hunters for..." before Varix continued

"...you were much worse." Firestar gave Varix an annoyed look. "Hey, you asked," he said.

The two followed Tigris to where she was jumping up and down at a tower of stairs leading up the side of the building. A stalled truck was up against the first level, allowing access. "SEE?ITSUPTHERE...but...now I feel...sleepy...nighty night," said Tigris before falling on her front as the caffeine wore off.

"Huh, guess she didn't eat as much as you," said Varix.

Firestar wandered up to Tigris and said, "Oh Tigris...WAKE UP!"

Tigris jumped in surprise and cried, "Huh, who, what, where?"

"Good...we gotta get up there. That'll show Father we're not hatchlings," said Firestar, jumping onto the truck's trailer.

Varix shrugged as much as a raptor could and said, "She'll go without us anyways and someone needs to make sure she doesn't get in over her head."

...

Meanwhile, Matt and co were heading into the building's basement. It looked like staff unable to evacuate had tried to hide in the basement, with limited success. "Ew, why do we keep coming across this kind of stuff?" asked Techo as he stepped over bones.

"Could be worse...remember the giant cats?" said Wilson.

Techo shuddered and said "I never got over that."

The corridors began to look more modern beyond a half-collapsed wall. "Over here," said Matt, shining a light towards a very high tech vault door.

"Hmm, something pretty special must be in here," said Collins.

"It's the mainframe. Most facilities had em in the basement to avoid bomb damage during the war," said Techo, walking up to the door and opening a small cabinet next to it to show a keypad.

"Think you can crack that?" asked Matt.

Techo pressed a few buttons and two rotating yellow lights started up. "Does that answer your question?" he said smugly.

The vault door swung open, causing a small rush of air to pass through. "Vacuum sealed. In we go." said Techo, before yelling in shock as a rat the size of a small quad bike tackled him.

Striker immediately jumped on the rat and started chomping on its back. The rat reared up with a shriek only to be knocked on its back as a hail of gunfire hit it in the stomach, ending its life and almost squashing Striker under it, who just jumped clear.

Techo leaned up shakily. "I take back everything I said about that Liz...about Striker," he said in a shaking voice. Striker chirped happily and licked Techo's cheek. "Ew, don't, stop," said Techo. The others gave him an annoyed look. "What? He was just biting a rat. You think I'd want that mouth near me after that?"

Matt stepped past him, patting Striker in the head before looking at the rows of modems before going over to a computer set up and calling up a world map with blinking lights on it. Only two were green, the one at Paris and another in the U.S.

"What do you think they mean?" asked Collins.

"Must mean active areas," said Techo, pointing to a red dot in Moscow, "That one was destroyed by us...had a nasty infestation of weird lizard things that coulda overrun the whole area."

"Weird lizards as in dino-human hybrids?" asked Collins.

"No...as in mutated geckos from the local zoo's reptile house," said Techo, typing away.

"Ah, not sure if that's better or worse," said Collins.

"It was...interesting. Anyhow, this could be trouble, especially if we have to go to the U.S. to check the other station. Says here that there are active terminals in use in the U.S...could be our hybrid makers," said Techo.

Just then, Striker approached the keyboard. He spotted a tasty-looking cockroach and reached out to grab it. However, the cockroach was more active than he thought and Striker ended up hitting several keys before he eventually nabbed it.

The screen immediately filled with a single message that said, 'Scuttling charges armed'. The others all glared at Striker who made a worried cheeping noise, as if to say 'oopsie'.

However, the map suddenly lit up with several blue spots. "What are those?" asked Wilson.

"We'll look at them later," said Matt, snapping a few pictures of the map, "We need to get out of here before this place blows."

The group ran for it, nobody wanting to stick around for the fireworks. Matt was first out the hole, yelling into his radio for pickup on the roof when a raptor barrelled into his side. Matt hit the wall and groaned, "Oh, someone get the license plate of that bulldozer?"

The raptor hissed in his face before it turned at the sound of the rest of the gang aiming. "Stop or he's dead," it hissed.

Techo rolled his eyes. "Great...a mutator's pet," he said.

"I am no one's pet," growled the raptor.

The raptor stopped as it heard a 'shrik' noise and felt a pricking at its throat. Matt had activated his gauntlet's wrist knife. "Let me up or I'll skewer you," he said darkly.

"You're not leaving with that hatchling," growled the raptor.

"Uh, if we don't get out of here, no one will be able to leave at all," said Techo from the sidelines.

Matt then noticed something on the raptor's wrist, a burnt out wrist watch he knew. "Where did you get that?" he said in a voice shaking with anger.

The raptor looked at the watch and said, "I...can't...remember..."

Matt seemed to lose it and only the raptor's speed avoided its neck being slashed as he took a swipe. "GIVE ME THAT!" he yelled.

Techo however looked at his own watch, "Stuff that watch, it's time to go."

Another raptor had gone up behind them and was trying to coax Striker over. Striker just growled before biting the raptor on the forelimb. The raptor yelped before throwing Striker down, getting the gang's attention. A siren however began to ring and a French voice began warning employees to evacuate before detonation. "Can we do this fight later?" asked Collins, "Preferably in a place that's not going to explode?"

Matt kicked the raptor back before hitting a blastdoor close button, blocking them off. Collins grabbed Matt, "Leave it...we can come back...LETS GO!" before the voice added in English, "Opening all emergency shutters under evac procedure 5." Matt reluctantly headed for the door. He put a mental note to find the raptor that had that watch again.

...

Razorfang and his pack had been surprised when the shutters had opened at the same time that several columns of smoke came from the ground. "Something is wrong here," said Razorfang, "Those creatures wouldn't burn their own nest, would they?"

Sabertooth said, "They did it before. Your dear daughter probably got inside and broke something." Razorfang looked at the smoke before saying "It will flush out the egg stealers...take some clan members and find them ."

"Fine..." Sabertooth said reluctantly before nodding to several pack members who ran in silently.

...

Matt and co were heading up the stairs as fast as they could. They could hear the raptors below them and they sounded pissed. "Just what I needed, a pack of angry raptors chasing me and an impending explosion," said Matt sarcastically. On cue the ground shook as the scuttling charges blew the mainframe to pieces. At the same time the building began to creak.

"Check that, a pack of angry raptors chasing me and a building collapsing down on me," said Matt.

They ran out into a corridor in time for a raptor to kick the far door open. Matt drew his pistol and started firing as it charged him, the raptor finally collapsing at his feet, an inch away.

Striker squeaked and hid behind Collins' legs. Matt turned at that. "Striker?" he said, before noticing Striker looking in terror at him.

"Uh, you just shot one of his kind to death right in front of him," said Collins, "I think that's going to have an effect on him."

Matt said, "Striker...it's ok...I didn't have a choice..." reaching out towards him. Striker hissed and ran down the corridor. Matt sighed. "I'll go after him...keep that chopper waiting 10 minutes then leave no matter what," he said before taking off after Striker.

"But the building-" started Techo

"You think I don't know that?" shouted Matt back.

Techo sighed as Matt ran round the corner after Striker. "You heard the boss...move it!" he yelled.

...

Meanwhile, Striker was running as fast as he could. He was in considerable emotional turmoil about what he just his stepbrother do. He didn't know what to think, but he didn't want to be near Matt at the moment. He ran round the corner and head butted another raptor's leg.

...

Sabertooth looked around and down to see the raptor that had been with the humans. Sabertooth growled and said, "Well, well, another black sheep of the raptor race." Striker backed up in worry as Sabertooth to glare at him. "I will not have this pack's blood polluted by another outsider," said Sabertooth, advancing. Striker quickly turned tail and ran away from Sabertooth.

Sabertooth turned to make sure they were alone before giving chase. Striker screeched in terror as Sabertooth ran after him, snapping at his tail. Sabertooth however had already explored this area and mentally smirked as the raptor hatchling turned into a dead end. Sabertooth reached the end in time for a red canister to hit him in the snout.

Sabertooth slumped over, dazed as a pair of boots appeared in his vision before he passed out. Striker looked up at Matt who was hefting the extinguisher which now sported a large dent. "Not all raptors are friendly," said Matt, "And some just can't be reasoned with. This is not a playground. It's dog-eat-dog out here, or lizard-eat-lizard in this case. Now let's get you home."

Striker looked up at Matt with a serious look until Matt said, "I'm sorry I frightened you." Striker cooed at that and nuzzled Matt's leg. "Let's go," said Matt before looking to see a half dozen raptors, including the watch owner. "Let's go NOW!" Matt amended before picking up Striker and running. The raptors hissed before chasing after them.

...

Meanwhile, the chopper was already lifting off when Matt and Striker burst onto the roof. Matt grabbed onto the landing gear and pulled himself up, yelling at the pilot to go alongside the roof so Striker could get in. "Come here, Striker," called Matt, "Come here, boy!"

The raptors burst out, Firestar saying, "Come on...it's safer here...come on," and reaching out like the gang on the chopper were.

"Come here, Striker," called Matt, "Come here, boy!"

Firestar reached out "Come on...you'll be better with us...you don't belong with humans," she said.

Striker turned before seeing Sabertooth behind Firestar, yelping and running for the edge of the roof, leaping out and knocking Techo over. "Ow, nice to see you too," said Techo.

Striker yelped as Techo got up and nearly fell out the chopper. Matt leapt forward and grabbed Striker. "I got ya," he said.

At those words, Firestar twitched as a image flashed across her mind...of a city on fire below her and the same voice saying 'I got ya.' and her own voice screaming for him to keep a hold. She staggered slightly and clutched her head as the image faded. "Whoa, what was that?" she asked.

Razorfang was standing next to her with concern in his eyes. "Daughter...are you ok?" he was saying.

Firestar got up unsteadily and looked up to see the human flying machine heading away. "I...think so, Father," said Firestar.

Razorfang nodded before the building shook again, "Let us go back home. That hatchling has chosen his home."

Firestar nodded and said, "I suppose it's for the best."

**End of chapter 3**

**And we have a little look in on firestar after 3 chapters and also...just cause we can, the effects of Java coffe on velociraptors...she'll turn up again...eventually but for now...enjoy the rest of the story.  
**


	5. Chapter 4

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter 4**

_'The information we recovered from Vipercorp's European headquarters was heavily encrypted and anyone who could have helped had died during the Black Months or had gone back to the U.S. It would have been impossible for a normal person. Luckily Techo wasn't normal..._

_Extract from log of Cmdr M, J, Lynch_

Matt and Techo were back in front of the Council, this time feeling more confident. "Ladies, gentlemen, and whatever dinosaurs fall under, last time I was in here, you had some...doubts about my claims," said Matt.

"You're lucky you aren't here in chains. You ignored our warnings, went to Paris anyway and infuriated the raptor clan that lives there," said a councilmember angrily.

"But I have results this time," said Matt, "Confirmable data. Techo, if you will."

Techo turned on a hologram as Matt said, "Vipercorp and the third energy grid are all supposed to be offline. But something is happening at one of their U.S facilities. Something I think is connected with the creatures that have attacked towns," said Matt.

"You mean these so-called 'dino/human hybrids'?" asked one of the councilors with notable sarcasm.

"Yes...the one that's killed 60 of my men and kidnapped who knows how many," said Matt, before adding, "My commanders say that the Enclave outpost, Fort Misfit, in Seattle, might be where they're being transported from. I can get a force there, set up camp and shut down this threat with ease."

However, several councilors stood up and started shouting. "You plan on crossing into enemy territory?"

"That is virtual suicide!"

"You could spark another war!"

"You couldn't possibly get that far!"

"They're already destroyed three towns in Vulture Brigade territory..." began Matt before the only councilor not shouting said "But none in Coalition territory."

"Do you think they'll only stop at Vulture Brigade?" retorted Matt, "Sooner or later, they'll be invading Coalition territory as well."

"Oh please...how do we know this is even the Enclave? You are the fools who chose to sit in the Russian dead zone rather than join the Coalition. You were bound to stir something up sooner or later," said the councilor, smugly.

"Are you implying that we killed and/or abducted our own people just to get attention?" said Matt in a dangerous tone.

"No...I'm implying that you've obviously been stupid enough to stir up something more bullying then you are. We will not listen to some barbarian," said the councilor.

"Barbarian? I'll show you barbarian!" yelled Matt, only barely being held back by Techo.

"I've heard enough. Get this idiot out of here," said the councilor.

As Matt and Techo were being dragged out of the council chambers, Matt yelled, "When those hybrids start showing up on your turf and start making a mess, don't come crying to me!"

...

The atmosphere on the plane back was not a happy one. "That idiot..." said Matt angrily.

"Well, there is a bit of logic to it," said Sonya, "I mean, would you want to risk another war with the US? The world barely survived the last one."

"So what? We wait till those things are marching down our streets?" said Matt.

"Of course not," said Wilson.

"I say we go overseas ourselves. We didn't need the council to hold our hands in Paris," said Collins.

Techo said, "The Coalition supply most of our food. What if they decide to cut it off?"

"We're keeping under the radar this time," said Collins, "The council's not gonna hear about this until we're back with all the proof we need."

"Yeah...I'm sure the Portugal monitoring station won't notice a damn seabase sailing towards the U.S.," said Techo sarcastically.

Matt said, "Then we won't use the Atlantic."

"Wait a minute, back up," said Sonya, "You're not suggesting we go over the Pacific Ocean?"

"That's the biggest ocean on the planet," said Techo, "Hundreds of miles of ocean with very little landmasses to rest on. Not to mention tropical storms that could sink us."

Wilson said, "And don't forget that we got no ships there. There's just that Enclave monitoring port...wait...you're not thinking of..." he said seeing Matt's look.

"Air traffic could make it over easy enough," said Matt, "The only downside I'm seeing is a bad case of jetlag."

"Too far...all the liners capable of the job were wrecked or cannibalized during the black months...guess we borrow the port..." said Techo.

…

**Russian East Coast**

**North of Korea...**

Chris Sanders looked through the window of the lookout tower with his binoculars before putting them down and rubbing his hands. "Stupid cold," he grumbled.

Fort Misfit was the Enclave's dumping group and their only post outside of the U.S. There was a saying that you musta really screwed up if you were posted there. In Chris's case, it was punching his C.O when he was told to launch an artillery strike on a civilian target that was under siege.

"Why do the jackasses get all the big shot positions?" Chris grumbled to himself.

His assistant said with a laugh, "Because the jackasses don't punch 5 star generals in the jaw."

"If you were in my position, you'd have done the same thing," said Chris.

"Yeah...that's why we're in the ass end of nowhere with those Vulture Brigade yahoos peering at us every day," said the assistant.

Chris rubbed his shoulders and said, "I don't care about them. It's the fact that I'm freezing my nuts off in a place nobody's interested in that's the problem."

A trooper walked in. "Hey boss...something's wrong with the radar. Those damn giant scorpions have gotten to it again, I think." he said,

Chris swore and said, "What's wrong with the radar this time?"

"I look like a damn mindreader? There's a blizzard out there," said the trooper before walking out.

Chris sighed and said, "Well, should we wait until the storm blows over to fix it or do it now?"

"Storm appears to be blowing itself out...now...OH SHIT!" said the assistant, peering out the window just before throwing himself to the floor. The reason was the row of T-100 battletanks parked just outside the fence.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," said Chris.

A squad of troopers in old Russian gear were already swarming through the gates, the shocked Enclave troopers raising their hands.

Chris turned to the trooper and said, "Our reputations can't drop any further, right?"

The door into the tower blew off the hinges and four troopers ducked in, aiming followed by a teenager. "Ok...you got two choices here: you can surrender willingly, or I can make you," said the teenager.

"You do know that you'll need an ID print from an Enclave officer to start up a ship, right?" said Chris, "You pretty much wasted your time coming here."

Matt looked at Chris's ID tag. "Ok, Captain...you can help us then...men?" The troopers all aimed at Chris as Matt said, "Think of it as a trip home."

"Now wait a minute," said Chris, "I'm not fond of this place, but I can't just turn on my country like that. Patriotism thing, you know. How comes you're with the Reds, Limey Boy?"

"Haven't you heard? Vulture Brigade isn't Russian." said Matt.

"Could have fooled me," said Chris.

A trooper wearing old NATO gear came in. "We got the ships...half these guys were still in bed," she said.

"Still in bed?" asked Matt incredulously.

"Hey, do you want to walk around during a blizzard?" asked Chris.

"No blizzards where you're going," said Matt, before saying, "Get the gear on the biggest ship they have and we'll move out."

"Hey, hey, I didn't say we can go yet," said Chris, "As much as I'd like to get out of this dead-end place, you're going to have to give me a better reason for committing high treason."

"Because your buddies have been killing my buddies," said Matt.

Chris paused before saying, "Elaborate."

Matt tossed a video at Chris's feet. "You'll have plenty of time to watch on the trip," he said.

Chris picked up the tape and said, "What the heck, I could use a good in-flight movie."

...

_When Chris saw the footage...of those things...holding Enclave weaponry, I think something in him already knew...even before the tape. He didn't emerge from the cabin on the ship...not until the Seattle docks were on the horizon._

_Extract from Log of Cmdr M, J, Lynch_

…

Matt had heard that Seattle was known for its frequent storms, but he didn't expect them to make the city look so spooky. "Looks like something out of a monster movie," said Matt.

Chris walked out onto the viewing platform, a distant look on his face. Matt said, not looking, "Did you enjoy the movie?"

"Dino/human super soldiers," muttered Chris, "Is nothing sacred anymore?"

"We're not sure what they are..." said Matt, adding, "But the answer's are near Cascade Falls. We're gonna find the answers...and shut this down."

Chris nodded and said, "Call me insanely loyal, but I don't think my government's behind this."

"They had Enclave gear," said Matt.

"That stuff's not as hard to get as you think over here," said Chris.

"Yeah...well...either way...whoever's responsible for this is dead meat," said Matt.

Not long after that, the squadron was walking through the streets of Seattle. They kept their guns at the ready, not sure what to expect in the abandoned city. It didn't help that flashes of lightning kept making scary shadows on the walls.

A German commented, "I knew the Enclave comms were bullshitting about how nothing was wrong here. This city was evacuated in a hurry."

"Makes you wonder what the reason was," said Sonya.

"Don't say that...that's just asking for trouble," said Techo, shining a light into a shop front that looked like a wrecking ball had hit it.

"Think the food's still any good?" asked Wilson.

"Only one way to find out," said Collins.

Matt said, "I wouldn't," peering into a diner and smelling the rotting food. Matt staggered back, holding his nose. "Yeah, I wouldn't expect to find any good places to eat in this town," he said.

Behind them, the ship was unloading all the vehicles and gear needed for the temporary basecamp as well as the trip north. Several Howler and cheetah gunships circled overhead, their lights illuminating the area.

Several walls were covered with graffiti of different kinds. While most are the basic 'anti-foreigners' slander, there were some that looked somewhat tribal. "Man, this place has really gone downhill," said Chris.

There was a noise from a roof and a few pieces of gravel fell from a roof. Matt looked up, seeing something duck out of sight. "Hey...we're being watched...building roof on the left," he muttered. A few soldiers nodded and started readying their rifles.

Chris looked around to see what looked like a skeleton propped up. "Now that's plain creepy," said Chris.

Sonya walked up to it slowly before a hail of gunfire came from the surrounding buildings. "Scatter!" she yelled before diving for cover.

The group scattered before Matt peered out to see who was shooting. It looked like a ragtag group of teenagers wearing face paints and wearing S.P.D swat gear and weapons. "What the hell?" he yelled. A shot that nearly put a hole in his head made Matt decide now was not a good time to be asking questions.

The group returned fire at the kids who ducked out of sight before firing again. The creepy part was that the kids hadn't said one word. Another creepy thing was that these kids were pretty good shots, considering how close some of their bullets came.

One of the gunships flew into view, sending the kids running for cover. Matt watched as the kids vanished down manholes or down subways. "Okay...that was weird," said Techo, as the last one fled.

"I don't think those kids were Enclave soldiers," said Chris, "Too young for a start."

"Yeah...and I doubt they do face paints," said Matt.

"So who were they then?" asked Sonya.

"Don't know and, as long as they don't attack us again, don't care," said Collins.

"Double the guard round the ship." said Matt.

…

A small group looked down from an alley. "Kala...who are these guys? I don't think they're Russians." said one of them.

"I don't know," said a young woman with red hair and green eyes, "Could be from anywhere."

"They chased off Carver and his gang...maybe the government's finally doing something?" said the first guy.

Another snorted and said, "Keep pipe dreaming. The government doesn't care shit about the little people, the ones who used to live on their battlegrounds."

"It's almost night...the adults'll be up soon," said Kala.

"Think we ought to tell those guys about them?" asked one.

"I don't think we should interact with them unless we have to," said the second, "Besides, they wouldn't come to this place if they weren't prepared for what's here."

As if on cue, there was a shriek from one of the deserted buildings. "I hope so," said Kala.

…

The men at the ship jumped when they heard the shriek. "What the hell was that?" asked Techo.

A trooper pulled down his goggles. "Hey...we got civvies in the streets," he said, pointing to where adult shapes were coming out of the surrounding buildings.

"Didn't the files say that this place was deserted?" asked Collins.

"It did, the whole city's on the quarantine list," said Chris. Matt spoke into his radio and one of the transports turned its spotlights on.

The light showed several figures in the streets, but the basic shape was all they had in common with humans. Several of them had too many eyes, no eyes, or eyes in the wrong places. Some of them had one big arm or two pairs of skinny ones. A couple even had tails. But all of them had at least one mouth and they were filled with sharp teeth.

One of the troopers swore in Swahili. The creatures all howled or screeched before running at the camp. The teams on guard wasted no time in opening fire, the transports also letting rip with their own guns.

Quite fortunately, the creatures didn't seem to be any tougher than the average human. Several of them were quickly shot down. The rest of them acted like a pack animal that had just bitten off more than it could chew and scattered, running back for the cover of the darkened streets.

"Ok...what the hell was that?" yelled Techo at Chris.

"I have no idea!" said Chris, "These never came up in any of the reports."

"Sounds to me like a typical 'sweep-under-the-rug' policy," said Sonya.

"Huh..." said Matt, looking to see several of the troopers holding a smaller inhabitant on the floor, tying it up. "Guys, how many times to I have to tell you, no live souvenirs?" said Matt.

"Sir, this guy's wearing what's left of a cop uniform!" yelled up one of the troopers.

"You don't mean..." said Matt, a clammy feeling appearing in his gut.

"I don't think this city was evacuated," said Techo, weakly.

Chris seemed to have taken the blow hardest. "What...they wouldn't...they couldn't just leave them here to...to..."

"The Enclave are arseholes, mate," said Techo.

Chris spun on him and snapped, "Hey, you don't hear me criticizing your home country!"

Techo pointed down at the ex-Seattle-ite. "Take a good long look, mate. The Enclave doesn't give a toss."

Chris just stared numbly at the discarded city. Matt pulled Techo away and said, "Leave him alone for a bit. It wasn't any better for me when London went skyhigh."

...

Meanwhile, the group that had shot at Matt had retreated back to their headquarters, the former Seattle Police Department.

"What're we gonna do about these guys, Carver?" yelled one

"What we've always done," said Carver, "Teach them to keep off our turf."

"They got goddamn tank, Carver. They're not those suburb pansies!" yelled another.

"Then imagine how powerful we'll be when we take them," said Carver.

"Oh...yeah, that'll work," scoffed another guy.

"We have the advantage of home field," said Carver.

"And they have the advantage of helicopters," said the first guy again.

...

Meanwhile, Kala's group had returned to their tribe to discuss the strangers.

"They're just here to cause trouble. You saw...they're the damn Russians," said one.

"Not all of them," said Kala, "I'm pretty sure I saw some who were of different ethnic groups."

"Huh...the government abandoned us last time," said another.

"Personally, I don't care who comes in or out," said another, "As long as they leave us alone, let them go at the mutants and the Gun Runners."

"We should at least show that not everyone he is a threat," said Kala.

"They seem like the type to shoot first and ask questions later," said one of them.

"Then we should show them why they shouldn't," said Kala.

"Oh yeah? And who's foolish enough to put their neck on the executioner's block like that?" asked the same guy.

Kala said, "Me for one."

There was a long pause before someone said, "You're not serious."

"I am serious," said Kala.

"You know it's a virtual deathtrap," said another.

"I'm not stupid enough to go out until morning when the adults are sleeping," said Kala.

"Even with them dozing, the Gun Runners won't let you through," said another.

"I'll be fine," said Kala, seriously.

There was a long pause before an older voice said, "We'll give you a chance. But if you don't come back in two hours, we will eliminate these strangers."

Kala said, "I'll be back long before then."

"For your sake, I hope so," said the same voice.

...

Kala headed on into the main docks area of the city as soon as the sun began to appear over the horizon. The newcomers had more or less secured the area, obviously not taking chances.

Kala took a slow breath and said to herself, "Ok, don't think of them as strangers with big weapons. Think of them...as new neighbors to greet."

There was a click next to her head. "Kala, bit far from your den, aren't you?"

"As are you, Carver," said Kala calmly.

"Hmm...you rats should know by now, the docks are ours," said Carver.

"For your information, I did not come here to meet with you. I was hoping to talk to our new neighbors," said Kala.

"That's nice, you get to watch as we demonstrate what happens to people who trespass," said Carver, before whistling. On cue, two Gun Runners grabbed a guard walking too close to a manhole and pulled him down it.

"Oh, that's a good way to make a first impression," said Kala sarcastically.

"It will be when all their gear is ours. Should make getting past your useless blockade easy," said Carver.

"Of course, it's always about power with you, Carver," said Kala.

"Yeah...it's great when we get such...lovelies like you," said Carver, watching as his men slowly opened the gate and they freewheeled a few repurposed police vehicles in that were full of Runners.

"I've told you the first time and it's been the same answer ever since: I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole," said Kala.

Carver glared. "You won't have a choice," he said angrily. The Runners immediately gunned their vehicles and began firing while a few tried to run to a tank. The tank simply turned its turret to face them before firing. Carver's mouth fell open as the shell hit one of the SWAT APCs dead center, blowing it in half.

"Brute force not getting what you want again?" asked Kala mockingly.

A chopper was already powering up to take off. Carver glared at Kala. "You warned them, you little..." he said.

"Actually, I hadn't met them yet," said Kala, "You're just that predictable."

Carver glared. "I'll show you..." he said before a hail of sparks got his attention. "Hmm...might as well leave a scapegoat," he said before shooting Kala in the leg and running off with the rest of his surviving men.

Kala winced as she fell over. She clutched her leg and hissed in pain.

"Have a good time trying to explain," said Carver with a laugh before disappearing round a corner, just as three of Matt's troopers ran round the corner.

Kala and looked at them and said, "Uh, this isn't what it looks like?"

The troopers weren't that convinced, aiming at Kala. One turned his radio on, "Get a medic out here, we caught one."

Kala sighed. Negotiations had just got a lot more complicated.

…

A few minutes later, Kala had been locked in a room in one of the old port authority buildings. "Ok...when are your little buddies coming back?" said Wilson.

"They aren't my buddies, they're from a completely different tribe," said Kala, "But my tribe will get worried about me if I'm not back in...what time is it now?"

"It's 1:30pm." said Wilson, looking at his watch.

"Ok, about 45 minutes," said Kala, "I don't want to start a small war."

Wilson said, "You act like you have a choice. Your friends ditched you, nobody is coming for you."

"I just told you, they're not my friends," said Kala, "Would my friends shoot me in the leg?"

Wilson didn't look convinced. "Why should we believe a word you say?" he said.

"Because if you don't, you'll be against two enemies instead of one while having a friend by your side," said Kala.

"So? We'll deal with them like we deal with the marauders back home," said Wilson

"It doesn't have to be this way," said Kala, "I only came here to seek peace between you and my tribe. You don't know what it's like here."

"Slavering monsters throwing wild midnight parties?" said Wilson sarcastically.

"Those...are from before, when the fallout hit this city," said Kala.

"We kinda guessed that. How many of these...tribes are there?" said Wilson.

"There were several, at first," said Kala, "But the Gun Runners have an insatiable want for more land. They took out nearly everyone and killed those who wouldn't join. I presume you know what I'm talking about."

"I suppose...so who's your tribe?" said Wilson.

"We are the Fairgreen," said Kala, "We've held out as long as we have because our territory is the suburban outskirts and hospital."

"Huh...so basically luck..." said Wilson, "Why should we be frightened of you?"

Kala looked uncomfortable and said, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"We've got our own share of weird shit," said Wilson. On cue, Striker ran by in the corridor behind Wilson, Techo's lunch in his claws and the lunch's owner in close pursuit.

Kala stared after them. "Was that..." she started.

"Yep, a raptor. Imprinted onto the captain," said Techo, "Sort of the unofficial mascot."

Kala said, "Well...the elder once made a gun runner truck explode."

"Big deal," said Wilson, "I've got a couple of bazooka rounds that can make a tank do the same thing."

"...with a fireball." finished Kala

Wilson blinked and said, "Right... Let me guess, it came out of his hand?" Kala nodded. Wilson laughed for a second before stopping. "You're serious?" he said.

"I can't explain it, none of us can," said Kala, "But after the Big Storm, some of us have been able to do...things we shouldn't be able to do."

Wilson said, "Ok...I'll be right back."

...

Matt said "...and you believed her?"

"Not really," said Wilson, "The tribe part makes some sense. But she lost me at the fireball stuff."

"Ok...this I gotta see," said Matt, walking down towards Kala's cell.

Wilson chuckled and said, "Fireballs from hands, I gotta tell that one to Collins."

Matt walked into Kala's room. "Ok, miss fire...ball..." he said, stopping as he saw her and clearing his throat. "Ok...ma'am," he said.

"Um, are you the captain?" asked Kala.

"The commander...yes," said Matt.

"Oh, well, I was hoping on seeing you," said Kala, "I just wish it were under better circumstances."

Matt said, "Ok...and why should we be worried? I see no fireball."

"I didn't make a fireball," said Kala, "I said that an elder threw a fireball and made a Gun Runner's truck explode."

"And what's your magic trick?" said Matt, sounding skeptical.

"Captain, I don't mean to be abrupt, but if you don't let me send work back to my tribe, you'll experience firsthand what my tribe can do," said Kala.

"Prove it," said Matt childishly.

"We don't have time for this," said Kala, "Do you want Fairgreen with you or not? Either way, the Gun Runners will be back and will be against you."

"Look...for all I know this magic stuff is just a load of smeg. Prove the magic stuff," said matt, leaning a little too close.

Kala smirked and said, "Come a little closer."

Matt blushed slightly and said, "Er, well, I, uh..." He didn't have time to finish before a bolt of electricity shot from Kala's hand.

Matt fell backwards off the seat and out of sight. Kala gulped and peered over the edge of the table. She'd always had trouble getting the charge right. "Erm...hello?" she said, answered by Matt saying "I'm a believer...and in great pain."

"I'm sorry," said Kala, "I tried to give you a light shock. I just thought it would be the best way to convince you."

"Well...rest easy that it worked," said Matt, getting back up.

"You're not too badly hurt, are you?" asked Kala, "Some of us having developing, you might laugh, healing spells. I was just starting, but I think I can help."

Matt jumped back, screaming, "NO...I mean...I'm fine," adding the last more normally.

"I'm sorry, I only came here to talk peace, not cause injury," fretted Kala.

"I'm fine...I've had alot worse," said Matt, before saying, "So...how about I get you home before your mates come and remove my eyebrows?"

...

Another reason Carver wasn't respected by Fairgreen was because he often abused his power in a most unbecoming way.

This took the form of his ex-lieutenant who was currently dead from a shot in the head. "I will not tolerate another screw up. Those newcomers are the key to cracking the Fairgreen tribe for good!" he yelled at the others present.

"But how can we get those weapons?" asked one of the team, "They just blew us away as if we were attacking them with slingshots and snowballs."

Carver was about to say something when one of the other men said, "They've got one of the Fairgreens. I wonder what the tribe would say to that?"

"She just came over for peace talks," said Carver before snorting, "Peace talks, you don't get land, food, and weapons just by talking. Everything has to be taken by force."

A gun runner ran into view. "Boss...there's a Fairgreen in the street...with one of those newcomers."

"What?" said Carver before running over to the window and looking down. Kala could be seen walking down the street with one of the newcomers, talking. "That...little...she's mine," he said.

"You want we should shoot them down?" asked one of his men.

"No...grab them...if they don't return to their camps, their people'll fight like adults over meat," said Carver with a smirk.

"But the newcomers' weapons will be destroyed," said another.

"If it destroys Fairgreen and cripples the newcomers, so be it," said Carver, "We'll take care of two enemies at once without having to fire a shot."

The runner said, "But..." and was cut off as Carver stabbed him.

"Anybody else going to second guess my orders?" he said. No one was foolish enough to dare that. They had learned that lesson long ago.

…

Down in the street...

Matt said "...and the Enclave just ditched the place?"

"No strategic value, apparently," said Kala, "Not to mention the fallout turning all the adults into monsters."

"Ah...that and the zapping," said Matt.

"Right," said Kala, "So everyone formed into tribes and tried to adapt as well as they could. The Gun Runners adapted too well."

"And I'm guessing they got into the police stores," said Matt.

A voice said "Yeah...hands up."

Matt paused before asking, "On who's authority?"

"Five M-16's aimed at your skull, newcomer," said the same voice, followed by several clicks.

"Carver, haven't you had enough play for one day?" asked Kala.

"No...still got time to get your freak friends to destroy the newcomers," said Carver.

"Pitting one against the other?" asked Kala, "I thought you were the type that prided himself in taking care of his enemy in person."

"Yeah...you're a wuss," said Matt.

"And you're a cadaver," said Carver before firing.

Kala screamed as Matt fell backwards. "You idiot...you stupid idiot...what are you hoping to achieve?" she yelled.

"Power, like you said," said Carver.

Kala waved her arms at the abandoned city and yelled, "Is this what you want? You want to rule over a ruined city filled with monsters that won't let you walk the streets at night? Is this worth killing for?"

Carver said, "Yes...I think it is...for a start...I get you...the last of the Fairgreens."

Kala glared at Carver and said, "I wouldn't be yours if we were the last two humans on Earth."

Kala began to ready a charge only for Carver's boys to aim. "I wouldn't...otherwise I'll shoot you in the other leg and give you a matching bandage," said Carver darkly.

Kala stifled her energy and said, "If you have any sense of religion, Carver, expect punishment for this when you die."

"Hah...so? I found something very interesting in the old police lockup," said Carver.

"Let me guess, more toys?" asked Kala.

"No, it was called 'arclite' knockout gas...an experimental riot gas," said Carver, "According to the notes, extended use could cause full memory loss. You're gonna help the Fairgreen tribe willingly join the Gun Runners..." he added, before pulling down a gas mask and tossing a canister at Kala's feet.

Kala quickly covered her mouth and nose with her hands in a futile attempt to keep the gas out.

"Nighty night, my dear," said Carver, he and his men laughing as the world started to spin for Kala.

Carver watched as she collapsed, "Bring her, we need to present how the newcomers hurt her. Leave the body for the adults."

...

Another one of Carver's shortcomings in leadership material was his lack of thoroughness. He never fully checked if a body was actually dead or not, he just leave them where the adults could get at them.

Matt opened his eye as soon as the sound of Carver and his men had faded away before wincing. "I'm never complain about body armour again," he said.

Matt got back onto his feet and said, "Ok, I'm feeling like following them so I can blow the bejeezus out of all those Gun Runners and rescue Kala. Any reasons opposing?"

It was a sign that not all Matt's marbles were present when he said, "Good..." before calling Techo. "Techo...get Viper squad out their bunk and Wolf squadron in the air. Meet me at...5th and Main," he said.

"What's the occasion?" asked Techo.

"Those guys who tried some grand theft tank earlier..." said Matt.

"Say no more. On our way," said Techo.

...

Meanwhile, Carver was making an important call. Miraculously, the local phone lines still worked. "Yes...it was lucky that my men found her. I don't know what they did to her but she is completely out cold, as you can see," he said, over the vid phone line.

"The evidence is convincing," said the elder on the other end, "But you are hardly a good neighbor to us. Why this sudden act of selflessness?"

"These people are the same one who left us to die. I think a common interest stands to reason, especially if this is how they treat peaceful visitors," said Carver.

The elder was silent for a minute and said, "The decision isn't mine alone to make. I must consult with the others."

"Then make it fast, these people could be moving as I speak," said Carver.

…

Little did Carver know that Matt's team was actually right outside his front door.

Matt had the vehicles ready to fire when he gave the word. He and his team were ready to go in. "Ok...do we knock?" said Techo. Matt shrugged and knocked on the back door, not really expecting an answer.

However, a Gun Runner opened the door and said, "What do you want?"

Matt punched the guy in the face and threw his gun into the street. "Nighty night," he said. Another Gun Runner however came out. "Hey...drop..." he didn't finish as the gang fired on him

"You know the drill," said Matt, "Find Kala and save Carver for last."

Techo nodded and said, "Ok...All teams...make some noise."

Outside, the choppers immediately came into view, firing on the parking lot and the cars inside as well as showing the empty rooms with weapon fire. To a watcher it would be impossible to tell that they were missing on purpose.

While the Gun Runners were the fiercest tribe in Seattle, they weren't quite the most disciplined. This was why they started panicking when their base got attacked.

Matt and his team began kicking doors open, looking for any sign of Kala. It was quickly clear that the Gun Runners were the top of a chain...and that the clans that had allied were at the bottom.

"Anybody feeling like seceding should file out now!" shouted Matt.

The various unarmed people present didn't look like they wanted to leave, instead grabbing the weapons from their ex-masters and getting a little 'revenge'.

"Uh, shouldn't we stop them?" asked Chris.

"I wasn't really expecting too many Gun Runners to survive this," said Matt, "I don't care who it is that kills them." He paused and said, "Huh, I would have never considered a plunger to be a lethal weapon."

…

Carver however was watching through a camera feed, the chaos outside as well as his men being decimated. "Hmm… Well, I have to admit, I am a bit of a sore loser," he said, taking an overdose of the gas out. "Well, if I can't have you, no one else will be able to," said Carver as he prepared to throw.

He was about to throw it at Kala when he started hearing gunfire just outside and one of his men came in. "Boss...we gotta go..." he said in a panicking voice.

"We will, but this will only take a second," said Carver.

"We don't have time, sir. We can still pull the plan off," said the Runner, desperately.

Carver looked at Kala. "Fine, grab her, we'll take her to go," said Carver.

Carver and a small group headed down into the P.D's indoor parking lot towards an old Police cruiser that had metal plates over the side doors for armour. "Get her inside and we'll..." began Carver before the exit shutter exploded inwards and a team of 'Wolf' troopers ran in, followed by Matt's team running out the same way Carver's team had.

"So...Carver, is it? I think you're outnumbered," said Matt.

"Stay back, I have a hostage," said Carver, "I know your type. You're the boy scouts who don't have the guts to take an innocent if it gets the bad guy as well."

"We're all around you, you stupid idiot," said Techo.

Carver just laughed. "Oh...there might be a little accident if you do," he said, "Those weak-willed idiots at Fairgreen will rip you apart for getting one of their own killed."

"Weak-willed, you say?" said Matt, "Seem to me that Kala had a lot more willpower in her middle finger than you do in your whole body."

"Please...they could rule the whole city if they tried. No ambition, that's why my tribe's better," said Carver, before seeming to notice an echo to his voice. "Odd, I didn't think there was that much space down here," said Carver.

"Can you say that again?" asked Techo, "I think the Fairgreen guys got everything but that last part."

Matt tapped an intercom on the wall. "We did a little re-wiring in the control room. You are live, citywide," he said.

Carver glared and said, "Who cares? I was going to wipe out Fairgreen eventually. I was just hoping on a little less trouble doing so."

Matt aimed at him. "You're in for a bad day. Most of your men met your ex-employees...there was an interesting incident involving a plunger with one," he said.

"Men are dispensable," said Carver, "I'll just find more and rebuild. I can't be stopped."

Matt aimed his rifle and said, "That's only if you get out of here alive."

"You forget, I have a hostage," said Carver, holding Kala in front of him.

"...And you forget that the city P.A system was also installed in the suburbs," said Chris.

"Yeah? So what?" said Carver.

"It means, Carver, that we know everything," said a voice behind Chris.

Carver turned to see Chris with the Fairgreen elders behind him. "So you brought more Fairgreens here. That just saves me the trouble of going to their turf to kill them," said Carver.

One of the eldars glared and said, "You won't harm a hair on Kala," before making a motion that made Carver yelp and drop his weapon.

"I still have this," said Carver, holding up the canister of Arclite, "One big whiff of this and Kala will have total amnesia." Matt settled for firing a shot that hit Carver in the wrist, making him drop the canister. "Gargh...you...outsider!" he said angrily at Matt.

"I recommend surrendering," said Matt, "You've just run out of winning options."

Carver yelled before pushing Kala aside in a fury. This was all the opportunity Matt's men needed and they all opened fire. Carver fell like a sack of barley.

"I hope you don't mind us doing that," said Matt, "I mean, he was giving you guys more grievance."

The eldar walked up to him. "His ways were steering him towards that end for too long," he said gloomily.

"Well, perhaps a semblance of peace can come to this city now," said Matt, "Of course, there are still those mutants to look out for."

"We have handled the adults this long. We will handle them for much longer," said one eldar.

"Great," said Matt, "So I guess it's needless to say that we have a peace treaty?"

"We still do not trust you...but we will not drive you away for your actions here. Maybe with the Gun Runners gone, the rest of the city will be more peaceful," said the first eldar again

"Here's hoping," said Matt.

"Now then...what brings you to Seattle?" said the first eldar while the other checked Kala.

"Well, it's a long story. Mind if we tell somewhere more pleasant?" asked Matt.

…

The eldars seemed to be more open minded then the council back home when Matt presented the evidence they had found. The Fairgreen children also took a shining to Striker. Fortunately, Striker didn't mind the children at all and was willing to play with them.

"You are strange...the Enclave painted the rest of the world as a wasteland...before the accident at Seattle," said the eldar.

"It might not be the Enclave," said Chris, "But someone over here is dipping into illegal experimentation. I mean genuine war criminals."

"It does not mean that our...'dear' government will greet you with open arms," said the eldar.

"Wasn't expecting that," said Wilson, "We need to stay under the radar. I'd hate to have an air-to-ground missile aimed at my head."

"We listened to the emergency broadcasts after the reactors exploded worldwide. The Enclave is settled around New York. The fort you are looking for however is in the Rockies...near a place called Cascade Falls," said the eldar, pointing to an old road map.

"Cascade Falls, you say?" said Techo, "Sounds like it was a nice place to go."

"It was...unfortunately it's also where a reactor was built," said the eldar, before pointing, "This highway will take you directly to Cascade Falls. The fort is in the mountains overlooking the town."

"Anything we should be aware of along the way?" asked Matt.

"Your...stepbrother's brethren live in the countryside around the highway...and they are not welcoming to humans. The Enclave attempted to...remove them and failed," said the eldar.

"Are we talking average velociraptors or something bigger?" asked Matt.

"All...it's a living natural history museum," said the eldar.

"Ok, anything else?" asked Matt.

"Stay out of forests...some of the plants now have...appetites," said the eldar.

"Appetites?" asked Collins.

"Some of the plants now have teeth...sharp teeth," said the eldar.

"Gee, just when you thought that plants were the only harmless things in the world," said Sonya.

"Indeed. Your people will be safe at the dockyards...but I suggest that you try to be quick in your dealings," said the eldar.

Matt nodded before saying, "How's that girl…Kala? That asshole knocked her around a bit."

"She's recovering," said the elder, "Our healing spells might be a little unstable, but we're making rapid progress with them."

"I still find it hard to believe that magic exists," said Collins.

"Well, no one's been able to explain how mutators can transform humans," said Techo, "Maybe this is how."

"Yeah...I suppose," said Matt.

…

**Fort Teller**

**Rocky Mountains**

Dr. Harris looked at the large crystal in front of him. "The dino soldiers are performing beautifully,' said Dr. Harris, "In maybe two weeks, we'll have an entire army at our command."

"We do not have two weeks. Your incompetence has attracted this 'Vulture Brigade's' attention. They are already heading here. I will have to...emerge prematurely. Invite your 'leaders' here," said a voice from the crystal.

"Master, I'm not sure you have strength enough to leave the crystal," said Dr. Harris, "The alien atmosphere alone may have detrimental effects on you."

"DID I ASK FOR YOU OPINION? Make the preparations...this 'Enclave' will serve as shock troopers until my main army is prepared. Bring them here," said the voice, two red dots glowing as the voice roared.

Dr. Harris stepped back and said, "As you command, master."

Adalinda walked up and muttered, "Are we sure about this? If we are right and his spell fails...the Enclave will kill us themselves."

"Have we a choice?" responded Dr. Harris.

"I guess not. I'll call those air-headed generals and tell them to come," Adalinda said.

**End of Chapter 4**


	6. Chapter 5

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter 5**

_As hard suffering as the soldiers are after the black months, the civilians suffered the worse. Many lost their homes and many also lost their families. Some of the worst lost it all and fell down between the cracks of the attempted patch-up._

_Extract from Lt Cmdr Christopher Anderson _

…

One such person was Megan Roph, previously of Cascade Falls. She had been one of the people lucky enough to survive the first hard months, mostly by raiding the shops and stops that had been left in the panicking escape. Of course, she still needed to survive the 'leftovers' from the third energy storms. Fortunately, her new...abilities had been an asset in that situation.

She used this same ability to burn the lock off the store room of the truck stop restaurant she had recently stopped in. "Huh...more vacuum-packed sandwiches," she muttered to herself before noticing that the overhead lamp was starting to shake. "Oh god, not another storm or earthquake," she said to herself.

That theory went out the window when the lights from headlights shone in through the window. Megan went to the window and carefully peered out to see what looked like a convoy going by in the street, a mix of covered trucks and armoured vehicles...all Russian or European make.

"Hell," she hissed. It was bad enough her government had not supported her people, but the people who had started the bloody war had come as well.

She ducked down as a HIND gunship hovered for a second, its searchlight shining in before it flew on. Megan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go on when a jeep pulled up and two troopers got out, chatting animatedly before walking towards the door.

Megan glared and said, "So, you think you can take this too? Think again."

The two troopers came into the lights of the stop and saw that one of the troopers was wearing US gear, one talking how he'd used to stop at the restaurant.

"First they ruin the world with their bombs and storms, now they're working with the people they were using them against?" growled Megan, "We'll see about that." She stepped back and hid herself in the shadows.

The two troopers opened the door, not even noticing that the lock had been dissolved earlier. "This place did the best drinks," said the American.

The other, in an Austrian accent, said, "Just make it quick, the commander said we're not stopping for anything."

Megan tensed herself, ready to strike.

...

Sgt McCarris stepped behind the counter to look for the bottle of homemade whiskey that he knew the old owner had kept there. "I'm telling you, Arnold used to make the best moonshine around. Got it from his cousins," he said before he noticed the door key on the hook behind the desk. He stopped at this...how had the door been unlocked?

Then he heard something moving around in the dark and giving off rattling growls.

McCarris made a small gesture towards the door to his fellow trooper before slowly easing his hand towards his barretta. "Ok...guess the bottle's gone...let's go," he said a little too loudly.

The growling seemed to soften for a bit.

They walked out into the parking lot before McCarris pulled out his radio. "Boss...we got a problem back here. Something's in the truck stop. I doubt we want it behind us," he said

"Did you see it?" asked Matt.

"I heard it...growling like a chainsaw," said McCarris.

A sigh came over the radio. "Fine...it's probably just a cougar or a saber-tooth honey badger or some crap like that."

...

Megan was relieved when the soldiers left. She was a bit worried about having to fight them. Dinosaurs were one thing, but guns were completely another.

She stopped as she saw one of the choppers make a banking turn and start flying back towards her before the troopers pulled their rifles out of their jeep. "So they want a war? Fine," growled Megan, "They owe me for the last one."

Another helicopter, unlike the first geared up with more firepower them most tanks also began hovering in place. Another of the covered trucks also stopped and a dozen troopers jumped out.

Megan paused and said, "Then again, I'm not sure I can handle this many."

...

The Ka-25 chopper pilot looked at the IR scan. "Ok, whatever's in there is humanoid, might be a Seattlite that made it out the city before reverting, exercise caution," he said.

...

The troopers slowly began to walk towards the building, guns at the ready. "Do we really need to do this?" asked one of the troopers, "I mean, we can just move on and leave it here."

"We need a safe route back to Seattle if this mission goes south," said Matt over the radio, "I'm heading back down the convoy."

"Understood, sir," said the trooper.

Another trooper yelled, "Come out with your hands up!"

There was a long pause after that. "Maybe it doesn't have any hands?" suggested one trooper. Just then, a chair was thrown through one of the windows.

The troopers jumped aside to miss the chair before aiming. "OK, JOKER...OUT HERE...NOW!" yelled a trooper, the one the chair had almost knocked down.

Six red lasers shot out and hit the trooper's gun, causing it to melt.

"Open fire!" yelled another trooper, the group opening fire on the building. The Howler gunship also opened fire with its 30mm autocannon. The brick wall of the restaurant was quickly reduced to rubble, along with a significant portion of its inside.

Another jeep pulled up and Matt jumped out, yelling "HOLD YOUR FIRE! What the hell?" aiming the second part at the trooper who had given the fire order.

"Sir, I don't think whatever's in there is your basic mutant. Look what it did to my gun," said the trooper, holding up the partially-melted gun.

Matt looked at the half-melted gun before at the restaurant before cupping his hands. "Hello? I can always tell them to start firing again," he called.

There was a pause before a voice shouted, "Go away!"

"I don't think so..." replied Matt, "Commander Matthew Lynch, Vulture Brigade. Who am I speaking to?"

There was a long pause before Matt called, "Come on, don't tell me you've forgotten your own name."

A few moments later, the answer came, "It's Megan Roph."

"Pleased to meet you, Megan. Is there a reason you tried to char-boil my personnel?" said Matt, making covert gestures to a group of troopers in EFEC enforcer gear to sneak round the back.

"You're enemy soldiers, I have a right to defend myself, don't I?" shouted Megan.

"Pre-emptive hostility, is it?" said Matt, an eye on the commandos carefully picking the lock on the back door.

"You were invading my space," said Megan, "You were invading my country, what's left of it. Did you expect me to just sit here and let you walk all over me?"

"We're here to catch some criminals who have killed nearly 200 people so far," said Matt. The commandos finally managed to ease the door open before sneaking inside.

"Big deal, soldiers like you have cost me everything: my home, my family, my belongings, my...humanity," said Megan, her voice sounding a little weak with the last part.

There was the sudden sound of a scuffle before the familiar buzz of a tazer discharge before a voice said, "Clear. We got...it."

"Bring her out, I want a good look at her," said Matt.

The troopers came out, dragging a figure forward into the light of the choppers and trucks. The lead trooper came forward. "Get ready for a shock. Oh, if she ain't army, her parents were, found these," he said, passing Matt a pair of dog tags that said 'Capt Roph' on it.

Matt looked at it and said, "She sounded a bit too young for the army."

"Hard to tell, with a face like hers," said another trooper.

Matt looked down at Megan and nearly flinched away. Megan's body was basically still humanoid, but a lot had changed. She was wearing a black T-shirt that had seen better days, given that it now had holes for an extra two left arms and a pair of spikes coming out of her shoulder blades. Her right arm seemed to have white spikes lying along her forearm. She wore tattered cargo pants with the cuffs torn off to make room for the almost saurian legs. She also had a tail, one that appeared to have an eye and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Her face still looked human, if you'll accept the three extra eyes and the grey skin all over her body. Her right ear seemed to have split into two elfin ears while her left ear was swollen and seemed to have an eye in it. Her hair was made up of red tentacles that went to her upper back.

Matt muttered, "Third energy poisoning. She must have been almost on top of a reactor when the event happened. Cuff her...permanent guard. Let's move out."

...

Sometime later, Megan started to wake up. She opened her eyes, though the room was still bleary. Disturbingly enough, all of her eyes were red but only the ones that were in her ear and tail had pupils, slit pupils at that.

She looked around at her surroundings. She was in a sheriff station cell, three people just outside. "Morning, Megan. Maybe we can talk more peacefully now? You're in a ranger sheriff station in the Rockies...30 miles south of Cascade Falls," said the teenager of the group.

Megan quickly tried to move, but found all four arms were handcuffed behind her back to the wall.

"I'm not taking chances," said Matt, before holding up the dog tags and tossing them into the cell, "These are yours. You dropped them when you were caught."

Megan snarled and yelled, "Give those back! Those are my father's!"

Matt said, "Thought so...what did you see that day?" he added the last part, staring her in the eyes.

Megan paused before saying, "A lot of things I wish I could forget..."

"I saw my sister fall into a sea of napalm. I'm here to find someone who is using Cascade Falls and Fort Teller to cause suffering in my home," said Matt.

"Cascade Falls?" asked Megan.

"You've heard of it then," said Matt.

"It was my hometown," said Megan.

"I thought so...whoever is doing this will not stop until someone makes him. We need to get to Cascade falls as fast as we can..." said Matt.

"I'm not letting soldiers defile my hometown!" snapped Megan.

Matt pulled out some other dog tags and tossed them over. The tags said how they came from Cascade Falls. "Someone already is," said Matt before getting up to leave, only to be knocked over as Striker jumped past him onto the table.

"Play?" he chirped. He had been enjoying his trip to America alot.

Megan screamed a bit and jumped back as much as she could. Striker was also startled and shrieked before hiding behind Matt's legs.

"Striker, not a good time. She's ok, weird-looking, but ok," said Matt, Striker peering from around Matt's side.

Megan glared and said, "It was war that ruined my country. It was military products that unleashed monsters like him on the world. And the army overran my hometown before they blew it up. Surprisingly enough, I don't trust anything involved with the government or the military."

Matt said, "Don't call my stepbrother a monster."

"Look what the radiation did to him," said Megan, "He nearly looks just like those raptors." Just then, Striker decided Megan was interesting enough to go over and start licking her face. And with her hands cuffed, she had no way to get him to stop.

"He...was never human, was he...STOP IT!" she said, yelling the last part.

Striker chirped and jumped back before making a chittering noise, the raptor equivalent of a laugh before running off. Matt said, "He kinda imprinted on me..."

Megan spat out the raptor spit that had gotten into her mouth. Matt half-expected it to melt through when it hit the floor. "You should get a leash for him," said Megan.

"No...his mother was a mutator...one of the talking ones. He's as clever as I am," said Matt, sounding insulted at the very suggestion of a leash before saying, "I'm asking for your aid...but we can always leave you here. I hear the plants have an appetite."

"How do I know you won't leave me after I help you?" said Megan.

"Because I respect the people under my command," said Matt, adding "...and the people who are working with me."

Megan still looked uncertain. "You're a soldier, and you're foreign, that doesn't give me many reasons to trust you."

"My parents were in Britain when the London reactor exploded and my sister never made it out of Paris," said Matt coldly.

Megan sighed before saying, "At least you were lucky enough to have a sister."

"Ok, let me put it another way: if you don't help us, I'll cut your throat. I am sick of your attitude. I need your help to catch someone who murdered three towns of people in Vulture Brigade territory," said Matt angrily.

This seemed to have been a breaking point as Megan suddenly started crying.

Matt didn't thaw too much. "Too many people have died already. You can help us stop a murderer," he said.

"Leave me alone," said Megan through her tears.

Matt glared, "Oh please...you're not falling anyone with the croc tears." Matt began to soften. "Look, I'm sorry, ok. What can I do to apologize?"

Megan said, "Depends how much this is working...oh crap."

Matt glared and said, "Oh, cute act, girly. Now I'm really-"

Just then, Chris came in and said, "Matt, can I talk with you for a minute?"

Matt nodded. "Ok...just a sec," he said before muttering to Striker, "She's got a sausage in her pocket." Striker whistled happily and jumped on Megan as Matt walked out.

Matt and Chris then walked out. "So, what is it?" asked Matt.

"I did a little research," said Chris, "And I think I may have known Megan's family before."

"How so?" said Matt.

Chris said, "He worked with me when the Russians attacked Maxwell AFB during the war. Me and him worked on the operation that repelled the attacks. He was a good guy..."

"Did he talk much about his family back home?" asked Matt.

"He mentioned his daughter Megan alot. Kept showing us pictures of her," said Chris.

"Cute," said Matt, "I suppose she wore a lot of pretty dresses."

"Not really," said Chris, "Anyways, he's told me enough about her. And she's probably only 15 years old right now."

"In normal years...in deviousness, she's about 398," said Matt before saying, "You try and talk to her. We need her help to get to the town without running into storm charges."

"I will," said Chris before walking back to the room. He opened the door and said, "Er, I think we may have a bit more difficulty with that." Matt walked over to see that Megan was gone, the handcuffs were melted apart, and the grate to the ventilation system had been apparently removed and wrapped around a squeaking Striker.

Matt looked at one of the dazed guards and saw the radio was missing. "Miss Roph...clever to take a radio. Take it you're listening so you don't run into my men," he said, talking into his own.

"I don't trust soldiers, especially foreign ones," replied Megan's voice through the radio, "And by the way, your negotiation tactics stink."

"Ok, I know one of your father's army friends," said Matt, before passing the radio to Chris.

"Hey there, Megan. I haven't seen you for years, not since I came to your birthday barbeque. How have you been?" said Chris.

There was a long pause before Megan asked, "Do I know you?"

"I'm Captain Christopher Anderson. I was a friend of your father when he was in the 401st Airborne," said Chris.

There was a pause before Megan said, "Prove it."

"I remember when you got your first bike, back when you and your mom lived on Maxwell. I remember when you asked me for a new chain for it and I had to 'lose' one from base stores," said Chris.

There was a clack on the other end, as if Megan had dropped the radio in shock.

"I can vouch for everything Lynch told you. I saw the footage myself," said Chris

Megan's voice was quivering as she replied, "You're not lying?"

"No...I wouldn't be here if he was," said Chris.

"And you won't leave me once you're done? Even with me looking...like this?" asked Megan.

"If Matt tries to, I'll break his jaw," said Chris, making Matt take a worried step back.

There was a scuttling sound from the grate before Megan dropped down from it. There were tears in her eyes, only these were much more genuine.

Chris picked her up. "It's ok, girl," he said softly while Matt tried to get Striker free. The velociraptor squealed as the metal pinched against him.

Matt finally managed to pull the grating loose enough for Striker to pull free, who immediately hissed at Megan. "You mean," he said before going behind Matt to peer out suspiciously

"Well, you kept drooling on me," said Megan, "And how could I know it wasn't poisonous?"

"Wrong dinosaur," said Matt.

"Still..." said Megan, "I haven't any idea what he ate last."

Striker said, "Mouse."

Matt turned and said, "Hey, no snacking between Techo's meals."

Megan shuddered and said, "I rest my case."

Striker said, "Me not eat you, no like screeching noise."

"How lucky for me," said Megan dryly.

Matt said, "We need to get to Fort Teller."

"I can show you the way," said Megan, "But I wouldn't want to go. That place has always been dangerous. Not just the defenses but...something's in there. Something really evil. I don't know how I know, but I always felt it."

"I've brought my best division with me," said Matt assuredly.

"I don't think whatever's in there can be fought with regular weapons," said Megan.

"We'll be in and out before..." said Matt before his radio beeped.

"Sir...we got two Enclave Blackhawks on long range radar...headed for Teller."

"Reinforcements?" asked Matt.

"I doubt it...it's just two choppers. Not enough men on those things...probably V.I.P's," said the guy on the other end.

"Interesting," said Matt, "Sounds like something big's gonna happen at the fort." Matt turned to Chris. "We can safely say the Enclave know what's going on."

Chris frowned and said, "You know, we have an old saying over here: 'When a government fails to live up to its duties to the people, it is the duty of the people to reestablish their rights.'"

"That's why I brought tanks," said Matt, before saying, "Wait...the Enclave don't touch genetic tech with a three mile long stick. So what are they looking at?"

...

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks carrying the leaders of the Enclave were rapidly approaching Fort Teller.

General Neilson was talking to Dr. Harris on a vid phone. "Ok...so is there a reason you've dragged us several hundred miles to this old dump?" he said.

"Oh, we've made an amazing breakthrough," said Dr. Harris, "We think it's in the Enclave's best interest that you see this."

"I'm sure it is," said Neilson sarcastically.

"I am quite serious," said Dr. Harris, "This will revolutionize the world."

"Like the last one? We've already decided your lizard trooper projects to be scrapped," said Neilson.

"This is much bigger than that," said Dr. Harris, "We're talking dawn of a new era here."

"Oh, shut up. You said that when you found those energy crystals under Teller and that was a waste of time. You say everything is the 'dawn of a new era'. Well this time we're taking a good long look. You'd better be right or you and your compatriots are fired," said Neilson before turning the call off.

...

Meanwhile, the convoy was heading straight for Cascade Falls. Megan was able to give them detailed instructions to get there without gaining any unwanted attention. The town itself looked like nothing had happened...except that most of the buildings had no windows or that their doors were smashed down. Cars were also crashed or abandoned. The fort's location could be seen in the far distance, a faint glow the only clue it was there.

"Not as bad as Seattle," commented Collins.

Megan, however was looking around with a distant look in her eyes. "Fort's just to the north," said Chris, pointing to the main road leading up to the north.

"I still don't think that a 15-year old girl should be with us," said Wilson.

Megan snapped out of her train of thought at that and said, "Hey, I'm going to be 16 in two months."

"15, 16...it doesn't make much of a difference when you've been shot," said Wilson.

"I'm not as helpless as I look," said Megan.

"Oh, sure, you can scare them away with just one glance," said Wilson sarcastically.

Megan glared and said, "That's not all I can do with one glance." She focused on his rear and sent concentrated heat waves from her eyes at it.

Wilson yelped and jumped aside. "Watch it!" he said angrily.

"Let's just get this done. We go in, flatten the fort, take proof that we were right, and go back to rub the Coalition council's nose in it," said Matt.

…

The Enclave generals were being led down into the fort. Already, they noticed something amiss. Mainly that the guards were covered in scales.

"We gave orders for the program to be shut down," said General Avarona in an icy tone.

"We already had a few dozen incubating in the tanks when we received the orders," said Dr. Harris, "We couldn't just flush them."

"There's more than a few dozen here. We're not stupid," said Neilson.

"We're using them as labor forces, nothing more," said Dr. Harris.

"Fine, that'll wash for now...till we get a team here to deal with them. Now...what's this special show?" said Avarona.

"Oh something you'd never expect," said Dr. Harris.

Neilson glared. "I'm getting sick of your little wordgames, Doctor," he said, his patience clearly straining.

"Words won't be needed much longer," said Dr. Harris.

Avarona said, "That's it, they're obviously wasting our time."

"Have a little more patience," said Dr. Harris, "We're almost there."

The group was led to the old crystal mine. "It's in there?" said Avarona, unimpressed.

"Not quite," said Dr. Harris, "You see, we discovered one crystal that was particularly unique."

"It wasn't in your report," said Neilson, noticing a faint glow from the cavern ahead.

The group was led into it to see a huge crystal, easily the size of a small building as well as what was inside it. "What the hell is that?" said Avarona, taking her shades off in awe.

"We believe the crystal was formed from solidified third energy," said Dr. Harris, "Sort of like amber, if you will. As to the creature inside, I think you can guess."

"I think you've earned extra time...as well as a reactivated program. What the hell is that creature?" said Neilson.

Dr. Harris smirked and said, "We call him Malefor."

"It has a name? Next thing, you'll be saying that it talks," said Avarona.

"Is that so uncommon?" boomed a deep voice mockingly.

Avarona and Neilson jumped back. "What the fuck?" said Neilson before saying, "Can it get out, Doctor?"

"Almost," said the voice, "But for the present, I require...footmen to do my bidding."

Avarona said, "I don't like the sound of that. Doctor...control your pet."

"Actually, he is my pet, as will you be," said the voice before the crystal glowed and a bolt of energy came from it and struck Avarona.

Avarona shrieked before the light covering her became too blinding to look at. Neilson simply ran for it, planning to get back to the chopper and his guards. He ran out to see what was left of his guards and the pilot, the lizardmen there in their place. Neilsson reached into his coat and pulled out his gun. He never left his base without one on his person.

He turned, swinging the pistol round as the doctor's walked into view. "You'll burn for this...killing an Enclave officer," he said angrily, aiming at Dr Harris.

"I'm hardly dead, Neilsson," said Avarona as she walked around Dr. Harris.

Neilson stared in shock. "What the HELL is going on?" he yelled, not taking his gun off Dr Harris.

"It's quite simple, really," said Dr. Harris, "We now follow a newer and superior intelligence."

That was when Neilson noticed the doctor's eyes: they weren't human...none of the others eyes were human. "What the hell are you?" he said before hearing what sounded like a descending whistle.

Avarona glanced upwards and said, "Looks like we've got uninvited company coming."

Layton said "What is...?" before the artillery shell hit a far building, exploding. At the same time explosions and gunfire could be heard in the courtyard below. "Who could be firing at us?" asked Layton.

Avarona walked to the edge and nearly got a third nostril as someone took a potshot. "Everybody by the looks of things," she commented, apparently not worried.

Neilson would have taken issue about being fired upon, but he saw this as an ample opportunity to get away from these brainwashed zealots. Harris watched Neilson jump onto the fire escape and clamber down. "Let him go...there's nowhere for him to run," he said, before another shell destroyed another building.

...

Matt fired his rifle at a lizardman that was trying to run. "Hah...this is almost fun!" he yelled over the noise as a T-82 moved to take aim at the inner gate.

"You think we should have had a more covert approach?" asked Sonya, "You know, infiltrate the fort before we try to blow it up?"

"Nah...where's the fun in that?" said Matt, cheerfully.

"I was expecting that answer," said Sonya dryly.

"Hey...who's up there?" said Matt, pointing to a woman in camo peering down before he took a shot at her.

"Dammit...it's the Ice Queen," said Chris.

"One of the high muckamucks of the Enclave?" asked Wilson.

"The Ice Queen. General Alice Avarona. We call her that cause of her lack of emotion," said Chris.

A trooper ran up, "Most of the place is under our control. They're all defending some mining building. Hell if I know why," he said.

"I say we gas the rats," said Matt.

"No gas, sir, I say we just bury them," said Wilson, before radioing the artillery to take aim.

"Fine, but I would have preferred to hear them gag," said Matt.

"You've got issues," said Sonya.

Techo however was looking up. "Were those clouds there a few minutes ago?" he said, pointing to a cloudbank seeming to generate from nowhere.

"Do those look like rainclouds to you?" asked Collins.

"Looks more like the clouds over London. But the reactor was on the other side of the valley...all the clouds should be there," said Matt.

"Uh, Matt, you remember me telling you that I felt something evil in that fort?" asked Megan.

"Yeah...I get the feeling that maybe I shoulda listened. GUNS UP, GUYS!" he said, yelling the last part to his men.

Suddenly, the ground started to tremble. "Are we near any fault lines?" asked Matt.

"No...there's just an old mine here!" yelled Chris before the mining building seemed to explode outwards.

"Please tell me that was only a reactor overloading," said Matt.

"The reactor's behind us," said Chris.

"You should listen to him," said a voice from the cloud of dust the building's collapse had caused.

"Who's there?" demanded Matt while aiming his rifle into the dust cloud.

"The new ruler of your pitiful race," said the voice before the cloud was blown aside to reveal a huge winged reptile.

"Bloody hell," swore Techo.

"Whoa, the dinosaurs get uglier every day, right?" said Matt.

The creature's yellow eyes narrowed at that. "I'll teach you your place," it said before Matt said "Ah, shut up, you overgrown bio-weapon," before waving to his men to start shooting.

His men started firing, but the bullets ricocheted off the creature's purple scales. "That almost tickles," said the creature.

A tank lined up a shot before firing its main cannon. This seemed to do a little more, the creature letting out an 'Oof' and falling into the rubble with a crash, Matt's men cheering. However, the creature stood back up and said, "Now you are starting to irk me."

The cheering vanished as fast as it started and Matt said in a small voice, "Oh bugger."

The creature walked up to Matt, ignoring more weapon fire from Matt's men as it did and said, "Any more tricks to try?"

Matt pointed his rifle at the creature's face, virtually shoving it up its nostril. "Back off or your brain's coming out the other side of your head!" he snapped.

The creature sniffed the rifle before biting the end off it. He chewed for a bit before swallowing. "It's a little dry," it said.

Matt pulled his rifle back and looked at the rifle in a 'matter-of-fact' way. "Hmm...ok then," he said, before backing up a bit. His men couldn't fire...not with him so close.

"I think it's my turn to attack now," said the creature. Matt dived aside as the creature spat a fireball at one of the tanks, knocking it flying. The rest of the vehicles opened fire, as well as the choppers the gang had brought firing their rockets and missiles.

Matt was helped up by Chris. "THIS IS WHY COVERT IS BETTER!" he yelled

"Like I was supposed to know they had mythical creatures," said Matt. Matt grabbed his radio and yelled into it, "Everybody fall back!" before half of a HIND helicopter fell out of the sky. "On the double," added Matt.

Just then, the dragon landed in front of Matt. "Your troops don't lack courage, if not common sense," it said, "Perhaps a slight change of views may make you more useful to me."

Matt backed up a little to see just Megan with him. The others had probably not even noticed he was missing yet. "Uh oh," he said weakly as the dragon made an orb of energy appear in his front paw. "Megan, I'll give you an enormous promotion if you pull an escape out your...well..." said Matt, remembering her age in time.

"How am I supposed to do that?" asked Megan.

"Megan, now's not a good time for dawdling. DO SOMETHING!"

Megan focused for a minute before hands started 'glowing' black. "What the-" she started.

"MAKE HIM GO AWAY!" shouted Matt.

Dark energy flared out around them, cloaking everything from sight. The dragon snarled angrily before blasting the energy away, only to notice a lack of his intended target. He roared angrily at that.

...

Down in the town, Chris was not in a good mood. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LEFT THEM!" he yelled.

"He told us to pull back," said one of the troopers.

"Yeah...with THEM! HE'S YOUR COMMANDER...AND YOU LEFT MEGAN TOO!" yelled Chris

"We didn't just leave them behind-" started one trooper when suddenly a black circle appeared in the ground and spat Matt and Megan out. "There they are," said the trooper.

Matt was shivering. "Clown'll eat me," he gibbered.

Techo walked over to them and said, "Uh, now may be a bad time to ask, but how did you do that?"

Megan was looking at her hand like a gun that, after years of hanging on the wall, had just gone off and blasted the cat. "I dunno," she said weakly before a roar from the distant fort brought them back to reality.

"Never mind that, I don't wanna stick around," said Techo.

Megan tried to get up, but found she was too weak to put support in more than one arm. Chris picked her up. The only surviving vehicle so far was one of the covered trucks. "Let's just go!" yelled Wilson, jumping into the driving seat. The team scurried to climb in, not wishing to test the full powers, or anger, of the dragon.

The group drove as fast as they could from Malefor. The emergence of the dragon seemed to have generated a rift storm. "This is worse than the start of the black months!" yelled Matt over the wind.

"Yeah, at least with the Black Months, we had a brief pause before the monster invasion!" shouted Collins.

Wilson jumped as the truck went offroad down a hill. "Will you shut up back there? I'm trying not to wrap the truck round a tree!" he yelled

"Just put plenty of distance between us and that thing!" shouted Matt.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you realize if he has the Enclave under his control, that we are in serious shit," said Wilson, swerving to avoid another tree.

"Let's worry about that after we're out of range," said Matt. The truck burst out the treeline onto the highway. "To Seattle...I want to put the Pacific between me and scaly," said Matt.

Chris was looking over Megan, who had just passed out. "What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"If I had to guess, that stunt of hers really took a lot of energy to do," said Sonya.

"We'll find a town to stop for the night and check her up. Driving in this storm's a death sentence," said Wilson, adding the last part when Matt began to object.

...

At an abandoned weigh station, the squadron stopped for the night. They also did a bit of salvaging with the abandoned trucks.

Matt checked Megan who had finally come round. "Easy, girl...sip your water," he said, passing her a water bottle. The group had taken cover in the station building's basement.

Megan slowly took a drink from the water bottle. "How did I do that?" she asked weakly.

"I dunno...saved us from something nasty though," said Matt. An explosion on the surface indicated a strike had hit one of the abandoned trucks.

Megan jumped a bit and Chris quickly said, "Easy, easy, we're safe in here."

Techo said, "I got an uplink with the team in Seattle. They got a storm too."

"Well, it is Seattle," said Wilson, "Not exactly sunshine country."

"They can see the rift storm we've got...its huge," said Techo.

"Well, that's comforting," said Matt, "How huge are we talking about?"

Techo pulled up a digital map and said, "Uh, about hurricane huge?"

Matt and Megan looked at the live feed from one of the satellites Vulture Brigade had hacked, showing all the old reactor sites now covered by storms.

"Uh, guys, remember that other map we found at the European base?" asked Techo, "The one with the blue spots?"

Matt said, "Yes...what about it?"

"A storm's appeared over each of those spots as well," said Techo, "Not as big as this one, but enough to make weird stuff start happening."

"Define 'weird stuff'," said Matt.

"I don't know, things being brought to life, creatures ripped out of the past, as far as I know, they may make creatures from other planets appear," said Techo.

"Oh please," said Matt, "I know we're dealing with weird stuff, but there's no such thing as space aliens."

…

Up top, Wilson and Chris were watching the storm. "At least no dino's this time," said Chris before a rift opened and a white slug-like blob fell out briefly, waved at them before falling down another rift. "Did I just see that?" said Wilson after a minute.

"As long as it's not coming back, I'm saying no," said Chris.

Wilson nodded. "Good...neither did I," he said.

**End of Chapter 5**

**So, the mastermind of the plot is revealed...Join us next time as the gang try to escape with what they have learnt.**


	7. Chapter 6

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter**** 6**

_'It doesn't seem possible. My own countrymen are causing this. If I hadn't seen the footage...or been at Fort Teller I'd have called the Commander a liar. As I write this entry, I'm sitting in the basement of a truck stop..._

_Outside, the rift storms that the...thing that we saw at Teller is raging. I've been listening to Enclave comm traffic...it sounds like a nightmare... _

_Extract from Log of Lt Cmdr Christiphor Anderson, Enclave 21st Recon... _

Everyone was having trouble coping with what they had seen. It wasn't so much as feeling despair as they were feeling denial. I mean, who would admit to themselves that they saw a real live fire-breathing dragon?

"Ok...maybe it was just a mutant...something cooked up like those hybrids," said Matt.

"Maybe it was just a robot wearing an organic-looking shell or something," said Techo.

"I don't think so. I doubt there's enough post-black months tech around to make something even half that size," said Matt, remembering how close he'd gotten, "Anyway...robots don't breathe."

"Ok, so maybe it's some sort of dinosaur-mismatch-monster-thing," said Wilson, "But then how would it be able to breathe fire?"

"I don't know and I don't care. I think we can safely say the Enclave is up to something," said Matt, in a shaking voice.

"Oh, no question about that," said Collins, "They're probably breaking every rule set by the Geneva Convention now."

"The Coalition'll have to listen when we throw this in their face," said Matt. Striker made a whining noise as another crack of thunder that more resembled an explosion was heard, even through the roof of the basement. Matt turned to Chris who had been silent, "I know you're listening to your radio. What're your mates up to?"

"Hard to say," said Chris, "The storm's messing up the signals."

"What can you make out? Are they after us?" said Matt.

Chris shook his head. "All I can make out is that most of its coming over the emergency frequencies," he said

"Why would they need to be using emergency frequencies in their home country? Unless..." started Wilson.

Chris said, "Don't say it. That overgrown gecko won't beat us. Hell, I doubt whatever was going on the fort was legal anyway."

"Then why were the big bosses landing there?" asked Collins.

"Maybe they were shutting it down? Hell, I dunno," said Chris angrily.

"I hope so," said Techo, "Fighting that thing's gonna be hard enough without the Enclave backing it up."

Matt looked over at where Striker had curled up next to Megan. "We have to get out of here. If this is gonna turn into civil war central, we want to be well out of the way," he said

"Way ahead of you," said Techo, "As soon as the storm lets up, we are motoring back to Seattle and getting back to the safe side of the Pacific."

Matt looked at Chris before pulling him aside. "I've heard about the Enclave's view of ghost town looters...what'll they do to Megan?" he said

"I think that'll come second to how they'll react to her...you know," said Chris, waving a hand in front of his eyes.

Matt said, "Well, that's settled. She's coming too. The Coalition are much more welcoming of her...condition and have doctors who might even be able to cure her."

Chris nodded, "Never had a thought about leaving her behind anyways."

"Glad to see we're on the same page," said Matt, before picking up his rifle. "We should try to make a move soon. That storm won't let up before whatever's going on catches up with us," he added.

"You think that storm will hold it back as well?" asked Collins, "I mean, nothing's invulnerable to that kind of storm, right?"

"I have a feeling about that flying...thing. I don't think it'll be bothered by the storm," said Matt.

…

Meanwhile, Malefor was conversing with his new generals. They were smaller and lankier than he'd like, but that will soon change. "These humans...so weak," he said, looking at a crystal that showed an image of his resurrected grublins and new 'drakid' humanoids rampaging into a Enclave base nearby.

"They will be harder to defeat then the Elders were," said one of his generals, Shard. As if on cue, the drakids in view shuddered before falling soundlessly, an Enclave 'Razorback' APC driving into view and firing its cannon.

"Sir, if I may be so bold," said another of his generals, Raptor, "We should focus our forces on the Enclave headquarters in New York City. They're bound to be trouble at one point, more likely soon than later."

Avarona in the corner said, "Yes...That is their center of power. Their remaining leaders will be there. It would also allow you to send your...control throughout their entire communications. You would win without even a shot fired."

"True, but there's no glory in that, is there?" said Malefor.

"It is sadly, quite possible that, once they get over the storms and the fact of reptile men, that they will take decisive steps," said Avarona, "It will be simpler to cut the head off the snake before it can strike."

"Preemptive measures should be taken," said Malefor, "Specifically, to squelch any chance of rebellion surfacing or perhaps from news leaking across the sea."

"That may be hard. Your control spell even if transmitted won't reach all their civilians. We will need to take steps to control the countryside...as well as find those humans who escaped from the fort," said Avarona.

"Yes, those humans," said Malefor thoughtfully, "Those were soldiers from the other nations, were they not?"

"From across the sea. My host's memories refer to them as a scavenger nation called Vulture Brigade...extremely well equipped but they rely on their neighbors, the Coalition, for their food and water," said Avarona.

"Then it would be for the best that do not return to tell others about us before we are ready," said Malefor.

"They will be swept up once we have control of the Enclave. It will take several days for them to get to the closest dock," said Avarona.

Malefor said, "Then that is more reason to crush the current resistance."

"Sir, are you certain this is the most prudent course of action?" asked Shard.

"I will not leave loose ends this time," said Malefor, getting up, "Let us visit this 'New York'."

…

Eventually, the group decided to have a look outside, just to see how bad the storm was. The storm had stopped discharging rift lightning but the rain had continued to fall. "This rain won't be stopping any time soon. We need to move," said Matt.

"Well, at least it's ordinary water," said Techo, "Not any freaky radioactive rain."

There was a yell from the direction of the truck stop and the group turned to see Megan being dragged back. "We caught her trying to slip away, sir," said one of the troopers.

Matt sighed and said, "We don't have time to play 'cops and robbers'."

"Hey, I just don't want to be caught in the crossfire," said Megan, "You do realize that you're on the top of the Enclave's most wanted list now, right?"

"Yeah...tell me. If they can remember our faces, what about yours?" said Matt with an evil grin.

"Like it's welcome in society anyways," said Megan sourly.

"Well, here's your choice. Come with us and only probably get shot escaping...or stay and definitely get shot or eaten by the flying gecko with attitude," said Techo.

"I'm better at hiding than you think," said Megan, "Besides, how do I know I won't get shot back where you guys come from?"

"The Coalition'll welcome you. They've done alot of research into reversing Third Energy mutations," said Techo.

"Did they ever see anybody as bad as me?" asked Megan, gesturing with her extra arms to emphasize, "Look. Just let me go. I'll just slow you down."

Matt said, "How do I know you wouldn't sell out our route for a good deal?"

Megan hesitated for a minute before sighing and saying, "You can't."

"Then you're coming with us..." said Matt before glaring and raising his rifle, "Or going nowhere." Megan may not be able to baldface-lie, but Matt certainly could. Of course, he wasn't that great with following up bluffs, but Megan didn't know that.

Megan glared at Matt. "Looks like I don't have a choice...do I?" she said.

Matt nodded, "Yeah. Now everyone in the truck. We got a long ride ahead of us."

As Megan got into the truck, Chris marched up to Matt and said, "I thought we were going to treat her properly."

"We are," said Matt.

"And threatening to shoot her is counted as proper?" demanded Chris.

"I never actually said I would fire," said Matt, "And practically any place can be called 'nowhere'."

Chris rolled his eyes as Matt climbed into the truck. "Fine line you're treading," he said to himself before checking the comm, only to hear a strange shrieking noise. Chris winced and said, "That'll give you an earache," before switching it off.

…

The gang was naturally jumpy as they drove through the countryside. They couldn't shake the worry that it was alot more...populated then the first time they had driven through.

"Say Chris, have they set an APB for us yet?" asked Matt.

Chris sighed. He and his men were probably already listed as traitors so... "Sure, why not? You only get executed once," he said, plugging his comm. into the trucks radio and tuning it in.

'...and all divisions are to send in their damage reports ASAP...' said a voice.

Chris said with a grin, "Hmm...looks like Mr. Lizard will be supplying the Enclave with boots for many years to come."

"Hope so," said Matt, "Hate to see what it would have done back in Russia."

The voice continued, 'All units are reminded that pacification of any units that missed our lord's transmission is to be completed by 15:00 hours.'

Matt said, "What's with 'Our lord'? I know that the Enclave leadership have ego's the size of a seabase carrier but that's new even for them."

"I'm a bit more worried about that transmission," said Chris, "All I got earlier was that shrieking static."

"I think we should try to go much faster. I have a bad feeling who this 'lord' might be," said Matt.

"Oh please," said Wilson, "You don't think that lizard thing has mind control powers, do you?"

Just then, a deep voice spoke through the radio, "My people, I am your Lord and Dark Master. Repent your discrepancies against nature and you shall ascend to a greater race."

Matt and Chris exchanged looks. "Dark Master? Who does this guy think he is, Darth Vader?" said Techo.

"There may be some among you who may doubt my power out of ignorance. Your doubts shall be put aside as I prove myself by claiming your forsaken cities," said the voice.

Matt said, "Oh boy...Collins..." he said, turning to Collins who was driving, "Pedal faster...I think we should end this field trip."

"Pushing it to the limits," said Collins before flooring it.

...

The highways weren't exactly in top condition, but they served the small convoy enough for them to gun it to Seattle as fast as they could. The locals were surprised to see them in such a hurry. Sure, the newcomers had helped deal with the gun runners but they were still suspected. Kala and a small group watched as the newcomer's camp at the docks was suddenly a hive of activity.

"Huh...wonder what's spooked them?" said a member of the Seattle Fishers, a group who lived further down the coast area of the city.

"Considering how well-armed they are and the way they took care of the Gun Runners, probably nothing we want to tangle with," said another.

Another person, part of a tribe that lived in one of the old communication centers, said, "Huh...maybe they're spooked by this 'dark master' guy who was spamming the airwaves all night?"

"The dark what?" asked Kala.

"Some total nutjob," said the guy who had mentioned it, "Apparently he's promised to retake the old cities."

"Doesn't Seattle fall under that category?" asked Kala.

"It's probably just big talk. We don't need them stomping about. They had their chance to help," said the Seattle Fishers member.

"They've got rid of the Gun Runners. Isn't that enough to know they're trustworthy?" asked Kala.

"Bigger fish feed on big fish," said the Seattle Fisher, "Doesn't make the bigger fish any tamer."

One of the group said, "Huh...maybe they bit off more than they could chew with the Enclave. They are using Russian tech...damn commies."

"If that hadn't come here, we would still have to put up with the Runners," said Kala.

"Huh...I suppose," said the 'commie' hater.

One of Kala's clan ran up at that. "Kala...the clan leader wants everyone back. Something's coming up the old highway," he said.

"More trucks?" asked the Fisher, "Traffic's started to pick up, suspiciously fast."

"No...looks like an army...choppers, tanks...and there's...something weird about their leader," said the messenger.

"I think we need to hear it as we go," said Kala.

"That's the problem...some of Carver's old men are talking to them," said the messenger.

…

Avarona was waiting in her military humvee for the residents' representatives to present themselves so she can enlighten them to the better nature of the dragon. Her master had fully enlightened her and even now she felt the heart of a dragoness in her. She squirmed a bit, feeling uncomfortable in this lowly human form.

The radio on the humvee's dashboard buzzed and a voice from a scout said, "Armed civvies...coming up the highway. Looks like S.W.A.T issue assault rifles...orders?"

"We shall give them a chance," said Avarona, "If they have any sense, they'll surrender to us. Otherwise, we shall roll over them and into their city."

The lead figure walked into view. "Who goes there?" he called out.

"The emissaries of the Dark Master and one of his Generals," said Avarona through a loudspeaker.

One of them turned to the other and said, "I thought that was just some mumbo jumbo junk."

Andrews had been one of Carver's lieutenants. "I don't care who they are. I say we point them towards those assholes who killed the boss," he said, "You see the kind of boomsticks these guys have? Why settle for sitting back when we hop aboard the power wagon?"

"I dunno, man. These guys are government. I don't think..." said one of them.

Andrews said, "Exactly...you didn't think...that's why I do that for you," before he walked forward. "Man, I'm glad you're here," he called

"Is that so?" called Avarona.

"We used to be in charge here till some people from Europe came and took over," said Andrews.

"They wouldn't happen to bearing the insignia of the Vulture Brigade, would they?" called Avarona.

"Vulture bri...yah, I think that's what their leader called his little group," said Andrews.

"Ah, we have been pursuing a group like that," said Avarona, "Do you know where they are?"

Andrews said, "What's in it for us?"

"What is your name?" asked Avarona.

Andrews said, "Andrews...what's yours, sweetie?"

"I am General Avarona, second-in-command to the Dark Master," came Avarona's reply with a notable trace of annoyance in her voice.

Andrews sighed, "You military are so uptight. You should learn to unwind. Now what about this reward?"

"There is a new world order dawning and you can secure yourselves a roster within it," said Avarona.

"Hmm... how good would this 'roster' be?" asked Andrews.

Avarona got out of the humvee and said, "You would be...what's the human word 'at the top of the pile'...so to speak."

"Looks good, er, sounds good to me," said Andrews, "Sign us up."

Avarona smirked. "I'm afraid only the leader can...ascend...but all higher ups need people to command," she said, coldly. If Andrews had paid attention, he would have seen how Avarona's men were giving them...room.

"Well, as the leader of the Gun Runners, I think I could provide a big advantage," said Andrews.

"Very well..." said Avarona before pulling what looked like a shard of crystal from a pouch on her belt.

"What's with the rock?" asked Andrews.

"Your ascension," said Avarona before smashing the crystal at the feet of Andrews and his men.

…

Some distance away, a small group of people were watching the interaction from afar. "What are they all doing?" asked one of them.

"I don't know, I was expecting to see fireworks three minutes ago," said another.

"I dunno...maybe we should go to the fireballers...tell em about this?" said another.

A third said, "Are you nuts? We don't want anything to do with the tri..." They were cut off as a blaze of energy came from the group, hiding them from view.

The energy wave soon faded away, revealing several reptilian beings who stood where the humans formerly did, wearing what remained of their clothes. It also revealed a larger quadruped version. "Bloody hell," said one of the trio.

The dragon shook his head and said, "Man, that was some flash."

The human in the uniform said, "Very good... This city now belongs to our master. Prove your worth and take these men, purge any rebellion from this place. And remember...they're only human."

Andrews paused as his personality was altered to better suit his new life. "As you command, General Avarona," he said.

The trio gulped as the creature Andrews had become began looking around before focusing on them. "Oh god," said one of the trio faintly before Andrews opened his new jaws and spat a fireball at them

…

"Get those tanks onto the ship...NOW!" Matt yelled before turning to see Kala and the elder of Kala's tribe. "Look...not a good time."

"Matt, we think your presence may be further required here," said the elder.

"No...we gotta leave. This info we got has to go to the Coalition otherwise we're all in trouble. You can handle those thugs now Carver's dead," said Matt.

"Carver may be dead, but he's left a big legacy," said Kala.

"You can handle him. Most of his gang surrendered and they're leaderless anyway. Nothing's going to..." began Matt before seeing a flash behind the skyscrapers and feeling the ground shake. "What the hell?" he said before his radio buzzed, one of his tank units on the other end.

"This is Manticore...we got Enclave tanks coming up main street...they're shooting everyone."

"Oh great," said Matt, "The one day the Enclave decide to be busy."

"Sir...most of the civvies are headed for you," said Manticore's team leader.

"Uh, is that heading for me in an 'angry mob' fashion or 'seeking the biggest guy to hide behind' fashion?" asked Matt.

"Could be both. So far we've only had UAV sightings of the enclave units. Requesting permission to engage," said Manticore.

"Permission granted, but only target hostile forces. Civilians are to be given wide berth," said Matt.

…

In downtown Seattle was utter mayhem. Avarona's forces were shooting at anyone they saw on the streets and firing rounds into buildings. Avarona watched with certain pride as the newest convert used a fire blast to clear out a building before she saw two APC's roll round a corner...and be blown apart as the tanks waiting round the corner fired point blank.

"It's almost a pity that happened," said Avarona, "Conquest without contest does not content."

The rest of the APC unit tried to get into range before a missile blew them apart. Two choppers, sporting VB insignia flew past before spraying the enclave infantry with machine gun fire. Avarona barely had time to block a hail of rounds. "Of course...it can also be annoying," she said angrily as her men tried to prioritize the new targets, ignoring the civilians who took the opportunity to run.

"Those vultures have the arrogance to attack me?" snarled Avarona. She glared as another chopper flew overhead before realizing what the attackers' main objective was as her men let a half dozen civilians escape from a building and run in the direction of the docks. "You idiots!" she yelled.

...

At the docks, things more or less had devolved into total pandemonium. Every tribe in the city was scrambling for shelter here, particularly in the ships.

Alot had also flocked to the only working ship there...Vulture Brigade's. Matt's men had their hands full, keeping them from mobbing the ship. Matt was yelling over the noise, "We don't have enough room for you all! The ship will sink if we try to carry you all on board." Naturally, most of them did not listen and tried to push on anyways.

Matt finally snatched a rifle off a trooper and fired into the air in an attempt to get some attention. That made the civilians back off, if nothing else. "We do not have enough room for everyone on the ship! It will be easier for you to head down the coast away from the city! They are heading up through downtown and have probably left the southern exits unguarded!" yelled Matt.

A large majority of the mob started heading south, pushing as fast as they could. A large group however wasn't going, either injured in the rush or unwilling to leave those who were injured. Matt sighed as the remnants looked worried as the sounds of battle got closer.

"Matt, not everyone's lucky," said Kala, "These people have nowhere else to go to."

A trooper said, "We could manage this number on the ship."

Matt sighed before saying "Open the gates..."

The trooper nodded before sending the message through the comlink. In a few seconds, the ship's cargo bay doors opened up. The refugees began running aboard as fast as they could, Matt's men trying to keep order. It quickly descended into more madness as there was a crack and one of Matt's men crumpled...an Enclave sniper team having opened fire.

Matt growled and said, "I am so not dealing with two crises at the same time today."

One of the squad's choppers quickly homed in on where the shot had come from...but not before a rocket shot out and hit the boarding ramp, cutting off a good third of the refugees. "Crap," said Matt, "I suppose they're not great jumpers, right?"

Several Enclave tanks rumbled into view and began firing. The choppers quickly took them out but it was clear that if the ship didn't leave now...it never would.

"Uh, Kala, you familiar with a certain ship named 'Titanic'?" asked Matt.

Kala stared at Matt. "You're going to leave them? Are you crazy?" she said in shock, not surprising given that a fair number of the people on shore were from her tribe.

"Kala, if we don't leave now, no one's going to make it out of here," said Matt, "I hate leaving them here too, but half a loaf of bread is better than none."

Kala glared, readying a fireball. "Not a..." before being knocked out by one of Matt's troopers.

Matt looked down at her guiltily before saying, "Get us out of here...Now."

The people on the docks cried out to the troopers as the ship pulled away. Unfortunately, the troopers had no choice but to turn their backs on them.

...

**Coalition Council Building**

**Copenhagen.**

"...We barely made it back to where we set off from," said Matt, looking at the assembled council who had just heard of what had transpired in the U.S. He had brought Chris along to confirm what had happened.

"Are you...positive that this so-called 'dragon' is what you thought it was?" asked one of the councilmembers.

"It flew...had scales and breathed fire...and killed 100 of my best men and countless civilians," said Matt darkly.

"The Enclave could have created some sort of facsimile of such a creature to provoke superstitious terror against enemies," said the same councilman.

"I don't care. All I know is that whatever that thing is, it's now calling the shots over there...and they could be looking at us next," said Matt.

"The Enclave could not be dealt a coup d'état, at least not easier than we could," said another councilor.

Chris said, "I saw Enclave troopers I knew gunning down their fellow countrymen. Are you blind to this?"

"This new tactic is rather alarming," said a councilwoman, "If anything, it shows how dangerous the Enclave has become."

The doubting council member said, "Then we should open negotiations. We all know how often 'leadership' changed during the black months. This is no different."

Matt yelled at that, "LORD SAVE ME FROM POLITICIANS!"

"I'm not surprised to hear you say that," said the doubting councilman, "After all, the Vulture Brigade has such a ramshackle method of making decisions."

"Yeah...but it gets the job done," said Matt.

Chris however said, "Are you mad? This Malefor took over the entire Enclave military in a day...people like him aren't happy with just one country."

"This 'Malefor' may simply be a figurehead persona," said another councilman, "A mask to intimidate and influence the weaker-willed into obedience. For all we know, it could be the Enclave attempting a new way to insure loyalty."

Chris sighed and said, "You really are a fool."

"In any case," said the councilwoman, "the Enclave has become a more active threat and we must strengthen our defenses in the great likelihood that they will attempt to invade our borders."

The doubting councilman said, "I vote that we send a diplomatic team to New York, ascertain the truth of these accusations. I also vote that we cut off trade with the brigade until then...after all they disobeyed our ruling to even go to the U.S."

"Diplomacy should be sought before conflict becomes necessary," agreed another councilman, "But cutting off trade with the Vulture Brigade is disproportionate. They would starve without our supplies."

The councilman looked annoyed at that, "They should be punished for their..." before the council head said, "That is enough! We will organize a diplomacy team but no trade sanctions will be posted against Vulture Brigade...AM I CLEAR?"

There was a few moments of silence before the doubter said, "Agreed. The trading shall remain unaltered."

Matt opened his mouth too late as the council head said, "This session is over."

…

Outside, Chris found Matt looking at the city. "They have no idea what's going to hit them. They just think the storms were accidental and that we're nuts." he said as Chris came up

"You have to admit that this threat is rather...unconventional," said Chris.

"Yeah...and if that Malefor does to the coalition what he did to the Enclave?" said Matt

"Malefor had a home field advantage, sort of," said Chris, "I don't think he'll be able to take over the Coalition just as fast."

"I looked at him from WAY too close. He's not from here...the Enclave didn't make him...I'm certain of it," said Matt, shuddering as the memory of his close up with the creature's mouth came back to him

"That's going to be even harder to convince the councilors than the fact that he's the new leader of the Enclave," said Chris.

"I have an idea who they'll send. I think we should keep a close eye on Ambassador Devina when she gets back," said Matt.

"Oh, sure no problem with that," said Chris before Matt elbowed him, "Ok, ok, actually watching over her."

"No point about watching her now. She hasn't even gone there yet," said Matt before sighing, "...I get a horrible feeling...that something bad's coming..."

**End of Chapter 6**


	8. Chapter 7

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter 7**

_"..And repeating our top story. The new leader of the Enclave, Malefor Drakaris was welcomed to the Coalition central building today, where he made a speech hoping to promote better relations between Coalition and Enclave forces. Great concern was felt by many about this unexpected change of power in the Enclave, but Malefor promises that everything will become quite clear very soon. _

_However, not everyone is happy with these changes. Vulture Brigade closed its embassy and to the worry of many people in the council has tripled security in the neutral sectors, many fearing a repeat of the contact skirmishes that occurred when Coalition and VB forces first met. Many suspect that this behavior is related to the unauthorized mission into the former __United States__. Malefor explains that they happened to be there when the leadership was changing hands and had 'a tragic accident'. _

_Commander Lynch issued a reply but broadcasting regulations do not allow us to air such strong language. He did also state though that the recent action to allow Enclave forces to set up a temporary base in Arrabida in __Portugal__ is a mistake."_

_Extract from Coalition News Network, originally aired July 12__th__ 2024_

Matt switched off the TV. He didn't need to hear the rest of the report. Chris said "Hey...don't take it so hard. It's just scapegoating."

"Tell that to the goat," replied Matt.

Chris said, "Look...there's not much we can do. What're we gonna do, shoot that guy?" "Tempting, but as far as I know, bullets will bounce right off him in human form too," said Matt.

Chris said, "What I don't get is, if Drakaris is that flying lizard, how'd he turn human?"

"How should I know?" asked Matt, "Do I look like I'm an expert on dragons?"

"Frankly, you don't look like you've picked up any books on mythology," said Chris. Matt glared as Chris said, "Not that I think is such an expert on flying flamethrowers."

"It doesn't matter," said Matt, "What matters is that snake in human's clothing is gonna pull the wool over everyone's eyes and is carting in a whole herd of Trojan horses."

"Three metaphors in a sentence that makes sense, impressive," said Chris.

Matt glared "Chris. This is serious. He beat you guys in 24 hours and now leads them. How long do you think before he does the same here? I've already had my men switch to our personal channels but I know good people here," he said.

"Hey, I'm worried too," said Chris, "My homeland's been brainwashed, or worse. I'm no psychiatrist, but I think my kidding around is my way with coping with it. How would you feel if your homeland was suddenly enslaved?"

"I dunno...it's a wasteland," said Matt icily.

"Ok, bad analogy," said Chris, "Like I said before, I think circumstances were favoring Malefor last time. I don't think he can do the exact same thing here. I'm not saying he's dangerous, but I'm saying he won't be able to take over as fast."

"He'd need someone on the inside," said Matt, turning the TV on and seeing the report repeating, showing a shot of Malefor coming off their ship with Ambassador Devina.

Ambassador Devina had a big reputation, and for once, it was a good one. She was well known for being pleasant, considerate, and very good at solving problems. She was also one of the most attractive women known to many people. Matt had met her, mostly during the peace talks for the so-called 'contact skirmishes'. This time, however, she seemed...different somehow on the screen. Matt repeated to himself, "Someone on the inside."

Matt turned to Chris and said, "Chris, how much influence would you say Ambassador Devina has on people."

Chris' eyes were locked on Devina's image. He blinked and asked, "You say something?"

Matt slapped him across the back of the head and pointed at the screen. "She's the perfect mole. She'd even have access to Coalition communications. All the diplomat corp do so they can talk to their opposite numbers and the council," he said.

"Yeah, I can see why Malefor would pick her," said Chris.

"We have to stop her..." said Matt, checking his pistol and adding, "And maybe let her 'visit' Fort Levski...see how deep this goes."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure kidnapping a diplomat, even one who's possibly brainwashed, is a pretty large crime, unless you have proof," said Chris.

"Do you have another plan?" said Matt, going over to the door and opening it to show several Coalition troopers.

"Commandant Anlios wants to see you," said the lead trooper in a way that said that it wasn't a optional visit, "He insists."

...

Chris and Matt were led into an old warehouse in Copenhagen's outskirts, far away from the Coalition zones. Anlios was standing at the far end with another figure in the shadows, Coalition troopers on the catwalks and around the main room. "Commander Lynch...good of you to come," he said in his trademark Kenyan accent.

"Wish you could have informed me before summoning me," said Matt.

"My friend and I would prefer the ambassador did not find out of this...and that means acting without the council," said Anlios.

"Your friend?" asked Chris.

A voice said, "At ease, captain." Chris gulped at that as the figure walked into the light, an Enclave uniform visible with the nametag, 'Neilson' in view.

Anlios said, "As you can see...we have found someone to confirm your report, Mr Lynch."

Matt was quiet for a minute before saying, "I'm sure you both know I'm having mixed feelings about this."

Neilson said, "The last thing I want to do is arrest you for trespassing. That damn flying iguana stole my country. I only just got my division into Canada."

"Oh, I don't like him either," said Matt, "It's mostly just it feels weird feeling grateful to, er, you know..."

"An Enclave officer? Believe me, I feel the same asking for help from a scavenger," said Neilsson.

Anlios said, "Enough...from what Neilsson and your report has told me. He sent some form of subliminal message through the communication."

Neilsson nodded, "Sounded like a cat in a food mixer but I had to shoot 12 men who heard it and turned their guns on me."

"Yeah, hard to believe that racket could hypnotize anyone," said Chris.

"Yeah. At the moment your men and Coalition forces outnumber what's left of the Enclave military, but if that sound bomb's set off here..." said Neilson.

Matt finished, "Game over."

"So I don't suppose you have a white noise device to cancel it out," said Chris.

"Nope...all we can do is scramble our comms," said Neilson.

Anlios said, "I have ordered units loyal to me to switch to the old EFEC frequencies. They are not on Coalition files but that is only 20% of our forces."

"How are we expected to do that?" asked Matt.

"Simple, kill Ambassador Devina," said Neilsson.

"What?" asked Chris.

"You saw what happened to Avarona," pointed out Neilson.

"The psycho bitch?" said Matt.

Neilson glared and said, "That 'psycho bitch' was serving in the marines before you were in diapers. I have no doubts that Devina or one of her aides is already working out a way to plant that message into the comms...and once it's in place, we are all screwed."

"Huh, Avarona aged well," said Chris before Matt elbowed him and Chris said, "Uh, right, we can't let that signal out. But how do we know where they'll be broadcasting?"

Anlios said, "There is only one place. The old missile defence uplink hub at the Copenhagen docks. All communications are routed through there."

"And something tells me we can't just simply walk in there," said Chris.

"No...only ambassadors and commandants have clearance," said Anlios, adding, "The drones will shoot down anyone else."

"Great, she'll be able to just waltz right in and set off a sonic hypnosis bomb," said Matt.

Neilsson said, "We need to blow her cover somehow...or make her blow it for us."

Anlios said, "That's why you are here. It's not enough that I believe Commander Lynch's and your story. The Council must also believe. I will be able to organize a hearing...you will be in that hearing, Neilsson."

"Are you crazy?" said Matt and Neilson at the same time.

There was a pause before Matt said, "The Council aren't like to take the word of an Enclave officer, no offense."

"I agree," said Neilson, "I'll be mostly order in irons before I finish my first sentence."

Anlios said, "Don't be stupid. The Coalition was never at war with the Enclave. You will be perfectly welcome."

"Perhaps, but a person like me wouldn't have a very recommendable reputation over here," said Neilson.

"I doubt they will care once you give your account," said Anlios before turning to Matt, "I do not trust even my own men for this escort. You will be under Commander Lynch's care until the hearing tomorrow."

Neilson said, "No...you don't...I don't think anybody knows for sure...that's what frightens me."

...

Meanwhile, at the base in Arrabida, Malefor was discussing tactics with his latest servant, Devina. "Have you accomplished your mission?" said Malefor, stretching now he was back in his proper form.

Devina said, "I have to remain in Copenhagen for now. I have heard a rumour that an Enclave commander is in the city. Commandant Anlios has organized a council review for tomorrow. "

"One who is not under my control, I assume," said Malefor.

Avarona looked up from the files she was looking at. "There is only one of my colleagues not obeying you, my lord. General Neilson," she said.

"Neilson, was he not present when I was reawakened?" asked Malefor.

"Indeed...but he avoided being enlightened and he ordered many of his loyal men to switch comms," said Avarona, adding, "I can also report that my teams have retrieved the device you need from Groom Lake."

"Excellent," said Malefor, "But if this Neilson exposes us too soon, it could jeopardize my grand plan."

"I have already found out where he is. He is also being guarded by our other...troublemaker," said Devina.

"Hmm...so we can kill two birds with one stone," said Malefor.

"Indeed...do you wish them alive?" said Devina.

"It matters not," said Malefor, "So long as they are out of the way."

Devina grinned evilly, "Yes, my lord," before turning off the connection.

...

Neilsson was not happy as he and Matt sat in the hotel room, Matt holding a pistol. "Is this really the most you can afford?" asked Neilson, looking around.

"It's the best anyone can afford. Don't tell me that it's better in the grand old U.S of A," said Matt, putting on a mock Texan accent.

Neilson gave Matt an annoyed look and said, "I'll have you know that we've preserved most of our cities. While you seem perfectly at home among ruins."

"Bull...I saw Seattle. It was worse than the Moscow Dead zone," sad Matt.

"Seattle was in a strategically unfortunate area," said Neilson, "The cites in the East are in much better shape."

"Yeah. So the guys at your end of the trans-Atlantic tunnel in hazmat suits...the ruined towns...the people abandoned in the west coast cities..." said Matt, listing off all the things he'd seen and relishing the way Neilson's slowly got angrier.

Neilson's face had got rather red and he was just about to punch Matt's lights out when there was a knock on the door. Matt was just as surprised. "Strange...the pizza place has been closed for a decade," he joked to himself before reaching for the door...hearing a faint click, and throwing himself to the side as several holes from a silenced gun appeared.

Neilson threw himself onto the floor as well. "I thought you said this hotel would be the safest place," said Neilson. "It was meant to be...I had two of my guys out there," said Matt, getting up and dragging Neilson into the next room of the suite as several troopers in unmarked armour came in, one of Matt's dead men visible in the corridor.

"I hope you are at least paranoid enough to have a plan for this kind of situation," said Neilson.

"Not really. The Coalition gets annoyed when a tank division rolls into their towns," said Matt, firing at one of the intruders, "Well...we can hope that unless someone in the hotel has called the police, we can surrender or we can die."

"I think we can both agree that the last two are not preferable options," said Neilson.

Matt nodded "You're still not getting a..." he began before a stun grenade fell at their feet.

Matt and Nielson glanced at it. Unfortunately, it was the model designed to go off too fast for you to pick it up and toss it. "Cr-" started both of them before a disorientating pulse came out of the grenade.

...

When Matt woke up later, he had a buzzing/tingling thing in his brain like he had gotten drunk and then poked an electric fence too many times. "Ah...glad to see you're awake. You wouldn't have lasted a minute in the marines," said Neilson's voice from behind him.

"Still would be longer than you," said Matt as he tried to move his arms and quickly found out he was tied up. And based on the fact that Nielson's voice was coming from right behind him, they were probably tied back to back.

"I wouldn't try. I woke up on the way over and got a black eye for my troubles," said Neilsson.

"So would you know where we are now?" asked Matt.

"Nope...but as the only intact warehouses in the city are near the docks, I think we're probably there," said Neilsson.

A voice said, "Perfectly correct, General."

Matt looked up to see a certain ambassador standing nearby. "Ms. Devina," said Matt, "I was hoping to meet you. Pity you've been brainwashed by a prehistoric relic that took the wrong turn on the path of evolution."

"Hmm...I am the only reason you are alive right now...so stop insulting me," said Devina, adding, "My lord would have been quite happy if you'd both been killed."

"So why spare us?" said Matt, "Probably would have spared you a lot of trouble and headaches."

"My lord wants a...peaceful solution...to avoid an unnecessary war," said Devina.

Neilson hissed, "Keep her talking."

"Would that be 'peaceful' as in 'literally controlling the minds of the masses' instead of just incinerate everything his path?" asked Matt, "Because the latter seems more his style."

"My master is more intelligent then you let on. Look around you. Our race destroyed this planet. We will do that to ourselves unless a wiser race guides us," said Devina.

Matt rolled his eyes. "If you could hear yourself..." he said rudely.

Devina frowned for a few seconds before saying, "Of course, one with a smaller, limited mind would not understand so quickly. You have not had the honor of being properly enlightened."

"I'd happily enlighten your boss...but I haven't got a flamethrower," said Matt.

Devina rolled her eyes and said, "That joke is too lowly for me to even feel insulted at."

"...No...it's a promise. You and your gecko boss won't get a chance," said Matt coldly.

Neilson added, "The Coalition's already on to you."

"Please," said Devina, "As if they'll ever believe a dragon is their new enemy. We shall take them totally by surprise. They won't even get the chance to put up a resistance."

"I promise, you won't take us down as easy as General Dufus here," said Matt, yelping as Neilson elbowed him.

"Bickering like schoolchildren," said Devina, "Another reason why ascension shall put us far above these dim-witted mortals here. In fact, I already have my ascension reserved." Devina then turned to leave. "I leave you to your thoughts. In 4 days, you may think very differently," she said.

As soon as Devina was out, Matt said to Neilson, "So, what did we get from letting her prattle on and on?"

"They never bothered to search me properly. My PDA was in reach...I just got her in stereo," said Neilson smugly.

"Great, good evidence," said Matt, "But not much worth if we can't get it to the Council, while freeing ourselves preferentially."

Neilson said, "I said they never bothered to search me. I got a penknife in my back pocket. Can you reach it?"

"I'll try, hard to move my hands back there," said Matt as he tried to reach into Neilson's back pocket. After a minute, Matt managed to grab something that clicked and...

"Ow...watch it," said Neilson, angrily.

"Oops, sorry," said Matt, though not completely sincere.

Matt began to slowly cut through the ropes. After a couple of minutes two guards walked into view. "Devina said to get rid of these two...make it look accidental," said one.

"Got any suggestions?" asked the other.

"I say we knife em. Bullets'll be suspicious," said the first one again, pulling out a combat knife. Matt started sawing faster.

"How do you make knife wounds look accidental?" asked the other guard. "I hear Commander Lynch made alot of enemies here among the...criminals. The general got caught in the crossfire," smirked the first guard.

"Right, just leave the two of them in an alley for someone to find. Or for the rats to feed on," said the other guard. Matt had just finished cutting through the ropes when the first gang reached to cut his throat, Matt giving the guard the treatment instead.

The second guard barely had time to register what happened before Neilson punched him in the eye. The guard staggered back before charging Neilson again, who flipped the guard over his shoulder and grabbed the guard's sidearm.

Matt took the first guard's gun as well. "I'm not much into knife-fighting," he said.

"Could have fooled me," said Neilson, "Be sure to clean my knife, will you?"

Matt tossed it over. "Do it yourself..." he said rudely, not really in the mood.

Neilson was about to reply when the far doors opened and two more guards ran in, rifles ready. Wasting no time, Matt and Neilson leveled their 'appropriated' pistols and fired at them.

However, automatics always beat pistols and the duo were quickly forced to duck for cover in a cargo container. "Well...this is great," said Neilsson sarcastically.

"This is hardly the worst I've been in," said Matt, "Those lizardmen were a tough bunch." Matt looked around as his eyes got used to the dark and smirked. "Got a light?" he said.

Neilson lit a match and followed Matt's gaze before he smirked, "Yeah, that'll work nicely."

...

Outside, Devina's men were taking positions in front of the crate. "These guys aren't going anywhere." said one.

Just then, they heard the sound of an engine turning over. "What was that?" asked one of them. The doors of the cargo container suddenly flew open as an old EFEC jeep shot out, scattering the troopers. The first trooper up however had a bright idea, switching to the MP radio band. "Control...we got some scavengers in an EFEC humvee headed for secure zone..." he said.

...

Of course, Matt and Neilson had argued about who got to drive the jeep. They eventually settled it with the time-honored tradition of rock-scissors-paper. Matt won, much to Neilson's displeasure and now discomfort. Matt was tearing down the main street. Their 'prison' had been in the old abandoned EFEC military docks, hence their ride.

"Dammit, slow down, you crazy Brit!" yelled Neilson as they power slid round another corner, bumping into a rusted van.

"You need to relax," said Matt, "I wonder what's there to listen to." He reached over and flipped on the radio. Matt clicked it on to get nothing but static. "Boring channel," he said before they turned to see the main entrance to the Coalition populated zone.

A trooper waved them to stop. Matt sighed and slowed down. "Damn tollbooths," said Matt, pointedly ignoring Neilson's sigh of relief.

The trooper said, "Where's the fire? You're acting like a damn carnosaur's biting at your heels."

"Oh, we just want to get through before rush hour," said Matt.

The trooper suddenly heard something on his radio before pulling his pistol. "STEP OUT OF THE VEHICLE!" he yelled. Matt's reply was to roll his eyes and put his foot down. Neilson was thankful for about the fifth time that he had remembered to buckle his seatbelt as the jeep careened forward.

There was a hail of ricohets behind them as one of the guards opened fire. "I get the feeling someone's been telling stories about us," said Matt, sarcastically as two Coalition jeeps started to give chase.

Neilson took out his gun and said, "Now I remember why they called this position 'shotgun'."

"Don't...these guys probably think we're scavengers or raiders. Who knows what those morons at the warehouse said about us," said Matt, pushing Neilson's gun down.

"Then I suppose we'll just have to outdrive them then," said Neilson.

"Not likely...we have to get to the Council building," said Matt, turning a sharp left.

Neilson grabbed his armrest to avoid smacking his head against Matt's. "How you got a license, I'll never know."

Matt glanced at Neilson with a look of mock confusion. "License?" he asked. Neilsson gripped his armrests more tightly at those words and leaned back.

However a new problem came up as one of the pursuing jeeps came alongside and its occupant took aim at them. Neilson looked over and fired a round into the jeep's front tyre, sending it careening into a wall, its occupants knocked out by the crash.

"Ok, they've officially taken us off the 'scavenger' list," said Matt. The last jeep tried the same trick, only for Matt to ram into its side, sending it spinning. "There...that was easy," said Matt, cheerfully as they turned the corner...into the sights of a Coalition 'Panther' tank which fired. Fortunately, the jeep had moved so it didn't get the full brunt of the blast. However, the front was now on fire.

"Dammit you...SCAVENGER!" yelled Neilson as the jeep rolled forward to a neat stop in front of the Coalition building. The tank however was lining up for a better shot and several guards were approaching.

Matt peered out. "Are we parked in the red zone?" he said.

...

Meanwhile, the Council was in session and Devina had the floor. "...what we have here is frightened people unwilling to accept that Malefor's Enclave can be a force for good if we ally with them," Devina was saying.

"Interesting argument, Ambassador," said the Head Councilman, "But you know we should wait to hear General Neilson before we can reach a decision."

"General Neilson should be in my place here. The commandant is stalling for time," said Devina.

"Time for what, exactly?" asked another councillor.

"It is obvious that the ex-general is not going to turn up. I have already seen records of how his men massacred at least 300 civilians in Seattle when Malefor's regime took power," said Devina.

"Then perhaps you would like to provide these records," said the same councillor.

"The records were Enclave and I was unable to bring them..." began Devina before a voice said "Because you know it's a lie. My men are in Canada."

Devina and the council turned to see Matt and Neilson walking in. "We just spent some time in the good ambassador's care," said Matt. This immediately got all the councilmen's attention. Devina had to force herself to look at their sudden appearance with surprise instead of angry.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded one of the councilmen.

Neilson pointed a finger at Devina. "This ambassador is a traitor who just tried to have us killed," he accused.

"That's a lie!" snapped Devina.

The Head Councilman said, "I trust you have some actual evidence."

Devina smirked, "Of course they haven't."

Neilsson however smirked and pulled his PDA out before pressing the replay function on it. Devina's voice echoed around the chamber, saying _'As if they'll ever believe a dragon is their new enemy. We shall take them totally by surprise. They won't even get the chance to put up a resistance.'_

"I hate to toot my own horn," said Matt, "But I think the proper thing to say in this situation is BUSTED!"

Devina glared and reached for what looked like a tape recorder in her pocket. "I'll change your way of thinking..." she snarled before a shot rang out and she span to the floor, a gunshot wound in her shoulder.

Anlios lowered his pistol and said, "Place the ambassador under arrest."

Devina glared at Anlios and growled, "You will pay for that," before bolting for the door. She didn't get far, two of Anlios's men dragging her back.

One of the saurian council members, a raptor, glared. "You are a disgrace," he snarled.

"Devina, you've been a loyal ambassador for the Coalition for years," said a councilwoman, "How could you betray us like this?"

Devina snorted and said, "The Coalition, the Vulture Brigade, even the Enclave, they're mere children's clubs compared to the might of Malefor. He'll unify this war torn planet into something far more respectable. He shall manage this world far better than anyone."

The head council member looked disgusted and said, "Take her away...find out what else she has done...then lock her away."

After Devina was hauled away, Matt said, "I suppose this is enough evidence for you that Malefor is a serious threat."

Commandant Anlios said, "I recommend that we mobilize immediately against Malefor's camp in Arrabida before he realises we have found him out. Commander Lynch has pledged full military support."

Matt looked over in surprise before he said, "I have?...oh...Yes, I have."

"A good proposal," said the head councilman, "All who favor it raise your arm."

...

_Coalition News Network Feed..._

_"Top story today, following an incident at the Coalition Council hall, the Coalition Council has voted unanimously to mobilize military assets against enclave forces in Arrabida. The new Enclave leader, Malefor Darkias, has been accused of treason, brainwashing, and plotting to overthrow the Coalition. While the accuracy of these accusations is currently unknown, Malefor has been branded an enemy of the Coalition. It has also been confirmed by our opposite number within Brigade territory that assets of the 12th, 15th and 21st military battalions have crossed the border to aid in operations. The Coalition has issued emergency orders to all civilian settlements west of Tagetha valley to immediately evacuate..."_

...

Malefor blasted the view screen. "These humans...they're almost more trouble then they're worth," he said, before looking out across the horizon. "Let them come..." he said.

**End of chapter 7**

**Looks like Malefor isn't too worried by the impending Coalition attack...join us next time.**


	9. Chapter 8

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter 8**

_[Accessing Coalition Datanet...]_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_[Accessed...Operation: St George]_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_[Details as follows: Malefor Drakaris is to be arrested or a confirmed termination...Vulture Brigade units to man safe line in Tagetha Valley for retreating civilian population. Full caution is advised. Reptilian bio-weapon confirmed in area...terminate on sight...message ends...]_

**Basecamp, Tagetha Valley**

'Frustrated' only grasped the tip of the iceberg of Matt's current mood at the moment. "For crying out loud, we discovered the threat," said Matt, "We should be on the front line helping."

The commandant in charge, a Commandant 'Harris' glared. "You're only here cause the council decided that any help's better than none. If I had my way you and your damn pirates would be still in Russia," he said angrily.

Matt glared at Harris and said, "I have half a mind to keelhaul you for that...if I had enough rope."

"Luckily, this isn't your show. Alot of civilians are still not in the safe zone yet and we can't spare anyone to make sure they get through here," said Harris.

Matt rolled his eyes and said, "Great, just as I wanted to be remember as: a traffic cop."

Harris said, "You and your 'brigade' don't even deserve to be here. You keep your men here and out of trouble," before walking out.

Matt followed him and spotted Chris and Techo. "Well...bad news. We might as well have stayed home," he said.

"Rats," muttered Chris, "I was hoping on getting a part of the action."

"I don't think that's too bad," said Techo. Matt and Chris gave him a glare. "Hey, I'm not being a coward, but did you see how tough that dragon thing was when we first went up against him? I'd rather not take chances with it," said Techo.

"That's why the Coalition'll need all the guns they can get," said Matt, angrily before sighing and saying, "Get the men set up...standard security perimeter."

...

Malefor, in his proper form, looked at a crystal showing an image of the advancing Coalition forces cutting through the small guard left at the perimeter. "So, those mortals think they can capture me?" said Malefor, sounding amused.

Avarona said, "Devina has already prepared the way for our primary strategy. Scouts say that there are only the Vulture brigade forces at Tagetha valley to contend with."

A technician said, "We've been unable to upload the signal to VB comm channels. They've scrambled their frequencies."

"What about the other channels?" demanded Malefor.

"The brigade uses old Russian military channels. We don't have any records on those codes. What intel we had was lost during the black months," said the technician nervously. Malefor glared at the technician before shooting a lightning bolt out of his mouth. There was a flash and the technician's skeleton teetered for a few seconds before collapsing into a pile of bones.

Avarona sighed. "You cannot keep killing the technical staff. It's so hard to train new ones," she said in a bored tone.

Malefor snorted before saying, "I'm too used to having disposable minions."

"This is not your homeworld. Here it's very hard to recruit people as it is," said Avarona, adding, "Not to mention that we only have a token force with us here. If this invasion is to succeed, we need control of Coalition assets."

Malefor growled a little before saying, "Agreed, we can't rely on only our resources." He didn't want to say it, but he wasn't quite as invulnerable as he's allowed the humans to assume he was. One of those 'gunships' at Fort Teller had managed to nick him. It wasn't much, about the equivalent to a paper cut. But that meant something bigger could do worse.

Avarona said, "I predict that if we activate now, we'll be in control on 70 percent of the Coalition military. I also have good news. The device is on its way through the Trans-Atlantic tunnel. It will be here in time for your arrival in the Coalition capitol."

"Excellent," said Malefor.

...

Meanwhile, the gang was getting as well-prepared as they could. Of course, the fact that they weren't even being held in reserve still irked them. The gang had settled for playing games to pass the time. Despite the promise that they'd be busy handling evacuees, the fact was that hardly anyone had ignored the warning.

Matt said, "I spy...with my little eye, something beginning with S."

"Steel?" asked Megan.

Chris said in an annoyed voice, "It's seagull again...like it was last time...and the time before that...THERE'S OTHER THINGS HERE OTHER THEN SEAGULLS!"

"Well fine, you can pick the next time," said Matt. Just then, something white, wet, and smelly splattered onto his shoulder. "Right after I take care of that particular bird," said Matt before drawing his gun.

Megan and Chris left Matt shooting at the circling gulls and walked over to where Techo was looking at the horizon. "Anything new?" said Chris.

Techo nodded and said, "It's what I'm not hearing that worrying me. No gunfire, no explosions, unless that Malefor guy surrendered the second the Coalition arrived, something's gone really wrong."

"Maybe he has a weak spot in his chest or something," said Chris.

Techo said, "After what we threw at him at Fort teller? I doubt it. Plus he brought a whole garrison along. I mean there is literally no gunfire at all."

"Well, let's see if they're telling anything about new developments," said Sonya before switching the radio.

Megan immediately cringed and covered her ears. "Ugh, are those words or is that a tone-deaf cat sharpening its claws on a blackboard and yowling in time with it?" When she didn't get an answer she looked around to see everyone simply standing still with blank expressions on their faces. It didn't take Megan long to put two and two together and she grabbed Matt's pistol from his unresisting grip and brought it down on the radio, smashing it.

The others shook their head. "What happened?" asked Techo.

"Oh, I've got such a migraine," said Chris.

Megan said, "You all went braindead when that dreadful noise came over the radio. It was like that noise we heard back in the US."

Matt gulped and said, "Like a cat with its tail in a blender?"

Megan nodded and said "Yeah...I...wow." before Matt grabbed the spare radio and said into it, "To all VB divisions, switch to channel 12, cease monitoring Coalition military channels at once."

"Roger that," said a voice on the other end.

Megan looked worried as Matt started yelling at his men in Russian who immediately ran for the tanks or choppers in the camp or ran to the check point positions in place in the valley. "Uh, do you think the Coalition remembered to scramble their frequencies too?" asked Megan.

"I don't think so, hence the lack of fighting noises," said Matt, running back and grabbing a rifle that a trooper tossed in his direction. A trooper then yelled something in Russian.

"Uh, I never took Russian, what did he say?" asked Megan.

"Someone's coming down the valley...alot of someones...WOW!" said Matt, jumping just as a bright flash was seen in the distance.

"What was that?" asked Collins.

"I dunno...gives me the creeps though," said Matt before a family of four ran past, the adults carrying the kids. The group could now hear the general cry of panic as groups of civilians, both human and saurian fled past the line.

"That's never a good sign," said Wilson.

Matt grabbed a saurian wearing a translator and said, "What the hell's going on?"

"The Great Disaster has descended upon all of us!" cried the saurian, "We are all doomed! Totally doomed!" Matt slapped the saurian in the face who said, "Thanks, I needed that."

"What the hell's going on?" yelled Matt angrily.

The saurian said, "The Coalition's turned on us. There was some dreadful screeching on the radio and they all...greeted that thing like your dogs."

"Yep, definitely not good," said Matt, "You better head for the hills. I don't know why it's safe there, but it's definitely safer than here."

"Why? My human friend said that his friend was seeing worse in Copenhagen. They're shooting each other there. It's sheer madness," said the saurian before running off.

Techo turned to the others and said, "Unless we have a large supply of tinfoil hats, I think we're without the Coalition's help on this one."

Matt shook his head. "Anlios switched his comms. I hope he didn't switch them back," he said before turning on his comm., "Commandant...are you there?"

For a second there was nothing but static before Anlios's voice came on, "Lynch...this is not a good time. It's madness here. Anyone who heard that racket started shooting at anyone on the street. My men are outnumbered 10 to 1."

"Yeah, I figured that much," said Matt, "You want us to come over or keep our position?"

"I'm ordering a full retreat, as far east as we can. My men have to evacuate data and civilians from Le CEITO and those people who came through will be run down. You need to hold as long as possible. You are not one of my commanders. I cannot force you to do this," said Anlios.

"Right," said Matt before turning to the others, "Ok, things are gonna be really ugly really soon. But we need to keep those creeps back so they won't get the civilians."

The troops all saluted and ran back to their stations. Chris said quietly, "We can't hold off the entire Coalition taskforce AND the Enclave."

Matt replied, "We can hold them long enough."

...

Everyone agreed that the waiting was the worst part. The lights of burning towns on the horizon were visible. Everyone had as many weapons as they could carry. Knowing what they were up against, they'd need everything they had. The flow of civilians had slowed to a crawl, though there were clearly people still left as Matt's men had been forced to make some people move on who had been waiting. "Bloody hell...I wish they'd hurry up," muttered Matt.

"Hey, you can't rush an evacuation," said Techo, "No, wait, that's the point."

A comm from one of the hovering attack choppers said, "Incoming, multiple infantry advancing up the valley from west side."

"Great," muttered Chris, "Guess the action's not gonna wait for the escaping to finish."

Techo pulled out his comm. "How much armour?"

The pilot sounded confused as he said, "No armour, they must be crazy, they must see us up here."

Matt and Chris exchanged glances. "Didn't think the brainwashing would make them that stupid," said Chris.

Matt said, "There they are," pointing as a line of infantry marched into view.

"Who the hell do they think they're fighting? Swordsmen?" said Techo.

"Guess lizard-lips never got the update memo," said Megan.

Everyone jumped at that. Matt said, "I thought I put you on the last transport chopper?"

"Hey, I'm the only one here immune to the brainwashing signal," said Megan.

"They're not parading it right now," said Chris, "And while we deeply appreciate you stopped us from becoming slaves, you cannot be in this battle."

Matt said, "But I handcuffed you to the chopper."

Megan said, "Oh...oh, yeah. This is yours," handing Matt a pair of handcuffs.

Matt just stared at them gloomily before saying, "Hey...I think the loony brigade are talking," turning to look at the paused ranks at the far end of the valley.

"Wonder what they're talking about," said Collins.

Matt yelled, "We can't hear you, you braindead idiots!"

Chris said sarcastically, "Subtle."

The response was too distant to be heard properly. "Use a megaphone, peabrains!" shouted Matt. He yelped as one trooper took a pot shot at him and swore back in Russian, turning to look at Chris and Megan and said, "I learnt it cause it's such a good language to swear in."

The troopers parted to allow what looked like a sky blue dragon to come into view who bellowed, "Surrender in the name of your master."

"Uh...no," said Matt before firing a bazooka at the dragon. The dragon blasted the missile with what looked like a white mist, freezing the RPG in mid air. Matt glared and yelled, "Cheat!" childishly.

The dragon laughed, "You have to do better than that." Matt shrugged and yelled something at a tank who turned its turret towards the puzzled dragon who looked around to see his men scattering. "What is that?" the dragon said.

Matt yelled, "Our better shot," before the tank fired. When the smoke cleared, the dragon was gone...well...most of it. However the troopers, far from demoralized looked furious.

"Maybe you should have done something a little less violent," said Techo. With that the line of troopers charged forward.

...

'_8 hours...that's how long we held that valley. 8 long hours of hell. They were like berserkers, insanely loyal to their new master. They'd run at our lines, fly bombing runs, fire artillery and we dug in and held out as best as we could. It didn't end when we were forced to run. Malefor's little 'radio show' had sown madness in any settlement unlucky enough to hear it. Mine and Anlios's men made those bastards pay for every inch. But the real situation struck home when the surviving Council met us at a camp near my border...and asked for sanctuary._

_For a time, I considered turning them down. After all, the Council was always lording over us, reminding us that we had to bend to their will if we wanted a scrap of food. Not to mention all the naysayers among them. I don't know what made me agree; maybe it was the looks of desperation in their eyes, maybe it was the sea of refugees desperate to get through the old Russian security wall we had repurposed, maybe it was both. But it came to a head after we sealed the doors__...and I got the first reports of what Malefor was doing._

_From what I heard, Malefor's basically a dragon version of Hitler. The humans under his control are treated worse than second-class citizens. They appear to be little more than vermin and are given very poor living establishments. Nevertheless, they are faithful sheep__ mainly because of the brainwashing and something called 'ascension'. __It was hard to get details. Neilson had gone back to organize his men in Canada__...and he had never heard of anything. What worried us was that ascension was apparently connected to the sudden appearance of more dragons. We found out when a family of...them were caught trying to fly over the mountains. One of them gave a coalition ID matching with a MIA trooper. He said he remembered it all. _

_I'm not quite sure what was going with that, but the dragons are popping up like cicadas. And from I've seen from that incident, not all of them are under Malefor's control. That and what happened on Megan's birthday.'_

_Extract from Log of Cmdr M, J Lynch, head of Vulture Brigade_

...

**2 Months since 'The Retreat'...**

Megan laughed to herself as she drove the old Russian jeep. "When will Matt learn that I'm not the order taking type?" she said to herself. Just then, the radio buzzed. After checking that it wasn't one of Malefor's 'propaganda signals', Megan switched it on. "Hello," she said.

"MEGAN...GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR, I WILL TELL COLONEL VOSKOV TO BLOW YOU UP!" yelled Matt's voice over the radio making the radio speaker's screech.

"Oh, come on, Matt, it's my birthday," said Megan. There was a brief pause before Megan said, "Seriously, I'm not kidding. It's my actual birthday today."

Matt said, "You're too close to a wall sector. I don't want an accident. Get back to base and I'll see if the scavenger team's found a cake."

"Matt, I'm 16 now, I'm legally old enough to drive," said Megan, "Can't I just have one drive around?"

"I'll let you drive round the fort, just get back here. A few people have vanished in the sector you're in," said Matt.

"Oh, what's the worst that could be out here?" said Megan.

"Remember what I told you about the giant scorpions that eat tanks?" said Matt's voice.

Megan said, "I haven't seen one of those. I think you made..." before Matt interrupted her "That's because something's been eating them."

"What could, or more appropriately, would eat giant scorpions?" asked Megan.

"I don't know, but I'd rather you not find out the hard way," said Matt, "You can joyride around the camp, but get back here now."

Megan sighed. "Fine...I'll turn it arou..." she said, not finishing as a fireball shot out and exploded close enough to knock the jeep on its side.

Fortunately, Megan had remembered to buckle her seatbelt. "Ok, that was unexpected," said Megan, "Did I drive onto a mine field or something?" She was trying to undo her buckle when there was a clank and two of the giant scorpions peered into the cab of the jeep with almost dog-like curiosity, interested in this strange thing in the metal object. "Uh, wouldn't you rather be munching on some giant spiders?" asked Megan.

Suddenly, a roar was heard nearby and the scorpions quickly ran away. Megan peered out and saw a red dragon coming out of the treeline, apparently muttering nonsense to itself. "Oh boy," said Megan, "I hope it's not the 'eat-innocent-maidens' type."

The dragon whipped round and Megan could easily see that it wasn't one of the 'refugee' dragons that lived with the other refugees. This one was dirtier, scratched and, judging from the manic stare, absolutely mental. "It talks...is it food or friend? Has it come to take me back to the crystal machine?" it said at high speed, no breath between words.

"Uh, it was just driving by and minding its own business," said Megan.

"It lives with the rebels...enemies of the purple ones...should it die? Should it live? Decisions, decisions eeny meeny miny mo," gibbered the dragon.

_'This guy's more cooky than Matt,'_ thought Megan.

"It doesn't answer...is it food? Food never talks," said the dragon, manically.

"Uh, no, definitely not food," said Megan quickly, "Me? Considered food? Oh no, I'd give the most awful indigestion. Not to mention I taste horrible. You wouldn't want to even consider putting me anywhere near your dinner plate. Nope, not edible at all."

The dragon grinned aimlessly and said, "Silly thing, I wouldn't eat something that's not real. You're not here." Suddenly, he paused and turned around. "What's that, Gregory? You say it really is there?" Megan gulped. Some of the 'ascended' refugees had brought family who were catatonic...however this one was clearly hallucinating and nuts. "Gregory says you're not talking...THAT MEANS YOU'RE FOOD!" said the dragon, roaring the last part happily and lunging at Megan.

Megan screamed and tried to unbuckle her seatbelt. However, the dragon ripped her right out and started flying upwards with her. "I always liked to fly...flew everywhere," said the dragon, "Me and Gregory flew with Virgin Air."

"That's very nice," said Megan, "But I want to be back on the ground, right now."

The dragon paused and said, "Gregory says that he knows a perfect stuffing for it. Good and yummy."

Megan growled and the white spikes on her right arm started to move apart as the arm started to split. What were thought to be simply spikes were actually the teeth of the muzzle that her forearm had become with her being the tip of the tongue. "I said put...me...DOWN!" She reached up and chomped on the dragon's foreleg with her gaping muzzle. The dragon let out a whimper and did let go...at about 200 feet.

Megan felt triumphant until reason and gravity caught up to her. She screamed as she plummeted down. "Oh man, oh man, oh man," she hyperventilated, "Oh, I really wish I had a pair of wings right now." What she didn't notice was that back of her shirt was bulging out under where her spikes were, which started to grow. As the ground rushed up to say howdy to Megan's skeleton, Megan closed her eyes, muttering "This birthday sucked."

Suddenly, there was a rush of air and her plummet suddenly screech to a halt. She peeked one eye open to see she was a couple of feet above the ground and not falling. She said, "If you've grabbed me again, Gregory or no Gregory, it will go badly for you," presuming that the dragon had grabbed her. She glanced up to see the dragon flying away. She looked back to see a large pair of black wings sprouting from her back. Their flapping was keeping her hovering in midair.

"Hmm...that wasn't so bad," she said before hearing a roar and seeing that the dragon was banking around, looking a bit angry.

"YOU UPSET GREGORY...I'M GONNA FRY YOU!" he roared.

"Uh oh," said Megan before she tried to fly away from the crazy dragon. The dragon was about to get a bite when a series of whistling noises coincided with a hail of missiles slamming into the dragons side, two HIND gunships swooping past. The dragon wailed before sliding to a halt on the ground.

Megan dropped down to the ground and approached the dragon. It may have just tried to eat her, but it just a really confused being. "Easy there," she said, "No one here wants to harm you."

"Where's Gregory gone?" it said weakly. It was clear the rockets had dealt fatal wounds.

Megan paused before saying, "Gregory's going to show you to a better place. Just take his hand and move on."

The dragon smiled before closing its eyes as behind Megan, Matt jumped out of the passenger section of one of the HIND's and ran up with a squad. "You ok? That asshole Malefor just can't leave us alone," he said.

"I don't think this guy was with Malefor," said Megan, "He sounded pretty nuts."

Matt looked at the dragon. "So? This guy was a danger to everyone here," he said coldly.

Megan turned and glared at Matt. "You can't just paint everyone with the same brush," she snapped.

"I think that- Whoa!" Matt covered his eyes and said, "Uh, Megan, I think we have a bit of a situation."

Megan said angrily, "What? It's just wings. There's worse mutations," before Matt pointed blindly to where the remains of her shirt was.

"Someone get the spare uniform," he said.

Megan glanced down and gave a small shriek of surprise before covering her chest with her arms. "Oh, this is so embarrassing," she said.

"That's sweet sixteen for you," said Matt.

Megan said, "I meant what I said...that dragon is a person."

Matt said, "_Was_ a person..."

"Oh sure, someone just sprouts more than four limbs and suddenly they don't qualify as human anymore," said Megan.

"These things want to either wipe us out or enslave us!" shouted Matt

"It's not that black and white!" snapped Megan.

Matt yelled to his men, "GET HER BACK TO BASE!" before heading for the waiting chopper.

...

'_Back then, I didn't listen to Megan's words. Back then, in my mind, it really was all black and white. On one side, the Vulture Brigade and the Coalition and Enclave free remnants...and on the other side, those damn dragons, led by the biggest asshole of them all, Malefor. In a way, it was like the black months, with humanity vs. dinosaurs. Only it seemed like the dragons here would be completely nonnegotiable and nothing else but town-burning invaders._

_At first thought, it was weird how Malefor would throw his new 'human militia' against our security wall, like shooting water at a safe door. Then the first of the new 'Empire Information Network' appeared on the airwaves, painting us as criminals, psychopaths and murderers. Malefor had apparently learnt a few trick, such as the power of the media. But we found ways to hit them back. Particularly with sabotaging their so-called 'ascension centers' in the cities, re-activated the Coalition News network out of our safe camp in Minsk. Megan and a few others objected, especially when I insisted on carrying out a few missions myself. If I hadn't though, things might have ended very differently as I wouldn't have met him...'_

_Extract from Log of Cmdr M, J Lynch, head of Vulture Brigade_

End of chapter 8


	10. Chapter 9

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter 9**

_'Rift storms became much rarer after Malefor finally appeared. As far as we were concerned, this was a blessing. We were able to reclaim bases, factories, and, more importantly, the defense headquarters in Moscow. However, storms still appeared sometimes. Everyone was taught that rift storms took anything that was struck by their bolts...nobody ever bothered to think that they might bring things._

_Extract from Log of Cmdr M J Lynch._

...

The sun shown down brightly upon Avalar. Although the locals had a lot of adjusting to do with the new landscape, particularly the disconnected sections of land literally floating apart from each other, life had more or less returned to simple normality. Particularly for a certain pair of dragons.

Spyro and Cynder flew down to a stop near a small cave. Being heroes and heroines was ok...but the hero worship got tiring after a while. Especially in poor Spyro's case who had his own 'groupie' in the form of a dragoness called Ember. Of course, a brief 'demonstration' from Cynder convinced Ember to keep a respectful distance.

"It's hard to believe it's been a year now," said Cynder looking out at the sun as it seemed to fall into the abyss between planetary sections.

"Yeah, it feels more like it's been a century," said Spyro.

"I know," said Cynder, looking out, "At least he's gone now."

"Right, if I ever see any dark magic, it'll be too soon," said Spyro.

Cynder nodded. "I agree," she said before looking to see clouds rolling in. "That storm looks bad. We might have to spend the night here," she said.

"That's strange, it seemed so clear a few moments ago," said Spyro. A lightning bolt shot out of the sky and hit the ledge, blowing a medium-sized chunk down towards the core. "I don't think we'll be flying back in this weather," said Spyro.

"You're right, we better get to shelter," said Cynder.

The two managed to get into the nearby cave just in time. The storm however began to get even worse until the noise from the wind was almost deafening. "How could the weather have turned this badly so quickly?" shouted Spyro.

"I don't know!" yelled Cynder before the wind suddenly ceased.

"What? It's over already?" asked Spyro.

The two walked out to see a shocking sight and instant vertigo. They could see what looked like the ground...in the sky, strangely translucent.

"Uh, something tells me this is no ordinary storm," said Spyro.

Cynder began to get an uncomfortable feeling and said, "I think we should get back insi..." and never finished as a bolt of energy shot down and hit her in the back. For a second, she looked stunned then shimmered out of sight.

"Cynder? Cynder! CYNDER!" cried Spyro. He frantically looked for any trace of her, but she had seemingly vanished into thin air. A second bolt however shot down, grounding in his spine. For a second he felt light headed before the world seemed to melt to black...

…

Eventually, the world started to reappear around Spyro and Cynder, only it did not look like the world they were last in. They were in a field in the pouring rain, with a forest nearby that definitely had not been there before. There was also what appeared to be a grey strip of some sort of stone running by the field. "Urgh...what hit us? Cynder...are you ok?" said Spyro, shaking his head to try and get rid of the ache.

"I feel like I've been pulled through a mousehole, but I'm fine," said Cynder, "Where are we?"

"I don't have a clue," said Spyro, looking around at their new surroundings before hearing a steadily rising drone. "What is that?" asked Spyro.

"I think it may be trouble," said Cynder.

A row of metallic vehicles rumbled into view, following the grey strip. A shadowed dragon's head was painted on the side. As the machines came closer they slowed to a stop before the back opened and several figures jumped out while one of them lit some kind of light that shone out. "Hello?" shouted one of the newcomers.

"We better be friendly," said Spyro to Cynder, "We probably don't want to get off on the wrong foot."

The leader walked into view, revealed to be some kind of hairless ape. "Are you nuts? You're lucky that rift storm didn't turn you inside ou..." said the ape before looking at Spyro, his eyes going wide and suddenly taking a step back. "

"Yes, that was a pretty bad storm," said Spyro, "And rather unseasonable too, isn't it?"

"Rift storms appear any time...s-sir. I'm sorry I was disrespectful. There's all kinds of troublesome sorts outside the cities," said the ape, in a shaking voice, as if expecting a punishment.

"Well, somebody should be doing something about them, shouldn't they?" said Spyro.

"We got enough trouble with those damn rebels. Come on...we can get you back to Teranor City," said the ape.

"Uh, what about Warfang?" asked Cynder.

"Never heard of it," said the ape.

Spyro and Cynder exchanged a glance before Spyro said, "Uh, Teranor City should be fine then."

...

The city itself was quite impressive as it came into view, more surprising were the two dragons near the gate. The left dragon woke up as the vehicles pulled up and said, "You're late."

"Sorry sir, we found two very unexpected people," said one of the apes.

"Humans..." muttered the dragon before its eyes fell on Spyro and Cynder and he said, "Oh...ah... we are honored..." before turning to the other dragon and saying, "Varren, wake up and open the gate."

The other dragon, who was asleep, opened one eye and said, "Huh? What?" He gulped as he focused on Spyro and Cynder and scrambled to push the gate open. "Welcome to Teranor, my lord," he said.

"Did he just call me 'my lord'?" muttered Spyro to Cynder.

"I didn't think we were that popular," said Cynder.

They wandered into the city while Varren and his unnamed companion spoke to the...humans. The city had obviously not originally been built for dragons, though dragons now used it. More of the humans also peered out from the more rundown buildings or alleys...while most of them looked impartial, a few looked terrified and some clearly had alot of hate.

"Something's not right here," said Cynder.

A dragoness at a stall however snapped them out of it, saying in an unknown accent, "You poor things. You're drenched."

"Well, it is rather cold," said Cynder.

The dragoness herded them into the building her stall was set up in front of. "You poor things...and silly too, walking into a rift storm."

"It caught us by surprise," said Spyro.

"They always do. Have a drink, it will warm you up," said the dragoness, dipping two bowls into a pot on the fire in the back. Cynder sniffed the black liquid. It was definitely not like anything she's ever smelled before. But one little taste couldn't hurt, right?

...

Teranor City

Human living sector

Matt put a finger on a blueprint. "Ok...this'll be easier than it looks. This center has hardly any security. It also has alot of psy-immunes there waiting for 'ascension'. We take those with. Team One will be with me, we take out the reception guards, set charges. Team Two tries to breach the chamber. We need that device if we are to find a cure," he said

"You sure it can be reverse-engineered?" asked Chris.

"Have you got a better idea?" said Matt.

"Fair enough," said Chris, "I just hope you haven't overlooked anything."

"That building had an escape tunnel built during WW3. The idiots built the waiting room over it. We take that before we blow the place," said Matt.

…

It turns out that the black drink was something called 'tea'. And this kind of tea had something called 'caffeine' in it. And it apparently does not settle easily in dragons.

"Cynder, I don't think you want anymore," said Spyro before glaring at the dragoness, whose name was Asharia.

"How was I to know this would happen?" she said defensively

"Mmm... yummy, yummy, yummy, this stuff is delicious, Spyro. We should really bring some back. I feel really, really good. Hey, let's race around the city? Huh? Can we, can we, can we?" said Cynder rapidly.

Asharia couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, sniggering to herself, "So, where are you two from?"

"Uh, I'd tell you Warfang, but something tells me it's not on the map," said Spyro.

Asheria said, "Hmm...it doesn't jog my memory. Maybe the people at the ascension centre can help you? They're usually up to date there."

"What do you mean by 'ascension'?" asked Spyro.

"Something our glorious leader came up with to raise humans to a higher plane. I don't understand it myself," said Asheria.

"Humans? Are those the ape-like creatures we saw?" asked Spyro.

"Yes. They deserve to be treated better...even if their eastern cousins are at war with us," said Asheria sadly.

Spyro frowned and asked, "Why are the humans fighting each other?"

"They're not fighting themselves, they're fighting...well...the centre can tell you all you need to know, dear. I will stay here and look after your girlfriend," Asheria said before chuckling at Spyro's expression, "I've lived a long time, dear. I know the signs of true love."

Spyro's cheeks blushed and said, "Well, yeah, but..."

Asheria said, "Don't rush your life...you're only young once," before wincing as there was a crash from the back room as Hyper-Cynder ricocheted around.

"Uh, how long is she gonna stay like that?" asked Spyro.

"A few minutes more, it's mostly first time caffeine rush," said Asheria, adding, "I will point her towards the centre when she is calmed down."

"Right, which way is the center?" asked Spyro.

"It is past the human living sector," said Asheria, before sighing and adding, "Look for the guards."

...

Spyro walked down the street in the direction Asheria had pointed him. There were more humans on the streets here...both of the unarmed and soldier type. Spyro may have been new to this place, but even he could see that the humans were in an appalling state of neglect.

The ascension centre was a broad contrast, a well kept building with lights on and, like Asheria had said, armed guards at the door. These ones were clearly more professional then the ones who had found him and Cynder. They didn't even blink at him, simply nodded him past. Another human was at some kind of desk when he came in. "Good morning...can I help...you?" she said.

"Uh, yes, I'd like some information about-" started Spyro.

His question was cut off when a pair of soldiers were seen dragging a human between them. "No! I don't want to go! I don't want to change! You can't make me! You can't make me!" cried the human as he was dragged through a pair of heavily-armored doors.

The receptionist sighed and said, "Some people are so reluctant. It's for his own good. What is it you wish you know, my lord?"

Spyro was very tempted about asking about this 'lord' title, but he had a feeling this wasn't the best place to inquire.

Several people were walking in behind him, wearing overcoats and hiding their faces. Spyro said, "Erm...I'd like to know how to get to Warfang City from here...or where here is."

The receptionist said, "Well, I cannot help you with Warfang, but you are in what used to be Switzerland before the master liberated it."

"Who is-" started Spyro before one of the humans in overcoats pushed him aside. Spyro glared and said, "Hey!"

The receptionist was just as angry. "Know your betters," she said before the human said, "Yeah...open the chamber."

The receptionist glared and said, "Guards, seize him!"

The guards started forward before the same person drew some kind of weapon and shot the two of them, causing them to crumple. "Like I said, open the chamber," said the person.

The receptionist glared and hissed, "Rebel," before pressing a button that caused a klaxon to start screaming. This didn't do much good except to block a blast shield over the doors. Several troopers ran down the stairs, rifles at the ready, only for another of the trenchcoat humans to reveal a rifle that gunned them down. The receptionist, however, had been caught in the crossfire.

Spyro had crouched down to avoid being shot. But now the humans were aiming their weapons at him. "What have we got here? Didn't know the creep had a kid," said one of the humans.

The person who had started the gun exchange pointed to someone and said, "Techo, open the cells and those blastdoors. Wilson, set the charges and find our exit tunnel."

"Wait a minute, you can't-" started Spyro but a sharp blow to his head made everything go black.

...

Matt looked as Collins knocked the purple dragon out cold. "Tie him up good and securely. Malefor'll pay out his snout to get his kid back," he said coldly.

"Huh, you think we would have heard if he had a son," said Collins as he got the ropes out.

"I don't care. He'll allow us to get some of Malefor's prisoners released," said Matt before looking over as sparks began to appear on the exterior shutters. "Techo, we're outta time. Get those doors open." Techo nodded and grinned as the doors began to open to reveal the two troopers and the 'volunteer' from earlier...oh, and a second set of doors. The troopers didn't last long.

"Oh, thank God you're here," said the 'volunteer'.

"Good, we'll be leaving whe...LEAVE THAT DRAGON ALONE...!" said Matt, yelling the last bit when the volunteer saw Spyro and snatched a sidearm off one of his rescuers.

"He's got the same skin as that devil," said the volunteer, "This thing is wicked!"

"He's also a bargaining chip," said Matt, Techo taking the pistol away.

Wilson said, "Charges are set, let's go," as a hatch opened in the floor to reveal a cargo lift of some kind.

Matt said, "One less centre..." before pressing the timer prime button on the detonator.

…

Cynder had finally gotten over her caffeine craze and was heading towards the center. She was surprised to see a crowd outside it. Two troopers blocked her way. "Sorry. There's a situation at the ascension centre. Rebels have taken it over," one said.

"What rebels?" asked Cynder.

"Rebels who don't see sense," said a voice behind Cynder. She turned to see an adult ice dragoness. "I am General Avarona. What is your name, child?" said the dragoness.

"Er, my name's Cynder."

Avarona looked down at her before saying, "Hmm...I believe my master once mentioned you... We should speak later, nonce those ungrateful humans are dealt wi..." She was cut off as the ascension centre exploded.

Cynder was thrown back the force of the blast, slightly stunning her. She got up and shook some stars from her vision to see the building was now a few half walls with a crater in the middle. "SPYRO!" she yelled.

That caught Avarona's ear. Her Master had mentioned the ones who had defeated him a few times. He had some terrible feeling that they would return at some point somehow. And it seemed she had at least one of them in her clutches.

A militia trooper said, "Ma'am...we got a tunnel here. They musta used it to escape."

Avarona looked at Cynder before realizing that Malefor might be annoyed if she decided Cynder's fate for him. She turned to a trooper and said, "Get this hatchling somewhere warm. I have to call control."

A short time later, Avarona contacted her master with her radio, "Master, I have some news that I think you will find very interesting."

Malefor's face slowly turned angry as Avarona spoke of her encounter. "If Cynder is here, then Spyro is not far behind," he said.

Avarona said, "That is the thing; it appears the rebels have either killed or captured this 'Spyro'.

"It had better have been the former," rumbled Malefor.

"My men have not found his body yet. We must presume that he was taken hostage. Cynder is quite heartbroken over the whole affair," said Avarona, not sounding at all sorry.

"Hmm...I think I can use that to my advantage," said Malefor, "But if Spyro is still alive, there is a good chance he will become a credible threat again."

Avarona said, "I can take care of that. We have constantly said how the rebels execute dragons. Why should this be different?"

Malefor smiled and said, "Yes, there is a likelihood we can assume."

"I'll send some men down the escape tunnel immediately," said Avarona.

...

Meanwhile, the tunnel had come out in a wooded area, Spyro being led along, more or less at gunpoint. "Where are you taking me?" demanded Spyro.

The group had apparently planned well, more of their metal machines waiting, apparently called trucks. Spyro had been rather harshly put into one, his wings tied to he couldn't fly. "Shut up," said one of his captors harshly.

"The pirates had more courtesy than this," said Spyro under his breath.

"I said shut up, lizard," said the same trooper, slamming his rifle stock on the floor of the truck. Spyro looked at the gun and remembered how easily it had dispatched those soldiers at the center. So he decided to keep his mouth shut for now and look for a chance to escape.

The trucks seemed to be slowing down after a few minutes and cheering could be heard. The cheering would have lightened the mood, but Spyro was comparing it to the same cheering he heard when he was about to enter the pirate's arena.

He peered out to see they were in a street, humans holding rusted weapons all cheering the trucks by. A few kids were running along behind the truck he was in as well. After a minute, the truck came to a stop and Spyro heard some voices. "...called...there is a snowstorm at Romenvai so they will be a few hours late," said one.

"Well, they better get here as fast they can," said the captain, "We have some...important cargo that needs ASAP transporting."

"That dragon, look, I understand your view and I know how I had to earn your trust as a result, but I will not let him stay up tied up in that truck like a sheep," said the other voice.

"Well, if you have a better way of keeping him from going on a rampage, I'm up for suggestions," said the captain.

"His wings are clamped? He will be fine. He should at least be given food. You are simply proving Malefor's lies about you as a cruel dragon hater," said the first voice.

Spyro's blood went cold at that. Malefor? That was impossible. Malefor was dead, or at the very least banished to another realm. But then again, Spyro was in another realm now, right?

The face of the captain from the centre appeared in the back with the face of a brown dragon. "You gonna play nice, purple boy?" said the captain.

"How do you know Malefor?" asked Spyro.

"Huh...I don't need to answer that," said the captain coldly before turning to two of his men, "Get him outta there and into an outbuilding. Guard on him...all times."

The dragon said, "One of my people will bring you some food, young..." leaving the sentence hanging for a name.

Spyro hesitated. If they were working for Malefor, it would be dangerous to let them know who he was. But if they were against him, they could be allies. From what he heard of the conversation, Malefor wasn't held in high regards. "Spyro."

"Greeting, young Spyro. I'm sorry for the commander. He finds it hard to trust our people," said the dragon as the captain walked off, adding, "I am Mayor Hakris."

"What's a mayor?" asked Spyro.

"I am the leader of this little town," said Hakris, kindly as two of Matt's men came up, one of them cutting Spyro's leg bonds while the other kept his weapon trained.

"Oh, like a chieftain," said Spyro.

Hakris smiled at that. "Indeed...I like to cling to my old form's way of thinking," he said, leading the way to a large building, "You look like Malefor, you know. Many people would mistake you for a relative."

"I am nothing like him," said Spyro, allowing some insult into his tone.

"I have no doubt. I consider myself a good judge of character, even before I was ascended. I can see you're nothing like that monster," said Hakris, nudging the door open. Hakris and Spyro walked in. "Welcome to my home," said Hakris, "It's only temporary, but I think it suffices."

Spyro looked around, spotting a picture on the side. It showed a smiling tanned human with a female human and a child. "Er, is that you?" asked Spyro.

Hakris frowned sadly and said, "It was." Spyro looked at the picture before back at Hakris who said, "Ascension is not all that people think. Malefor says how it is an honor. I am sure Alena would not approve."

"Ascension, is that when they're turning humans into dragons?" asked Spyro.

"Yes...I'm one of the lucky ones. People who have been...near third energy do not lose their minds. Ascension destroys all you once were and replaces it," said Hakris.

"What is third energy?" asked Spyro.

"A mistake...a mistake that took my Carlos and Alena from me," said Hakris, a tone making it clear that he wanted to avoid the subject.

Spyro noticed the tone and changed the subject, "So, how was it that you became mayor here?"

"After the black months, the survivor group I was with found this town...deserted. We lived here until he came. His militia marched through and demanded our allegiance...what could I do? There were families here, we are not warriors," said Hakris, adding darkly, "I didn't realize he didn't want a human as mayor..."

"I see..." said Spyro, "But since you weren't enthralled to him, you were able to give shelter for the other humans who weren't loyal to Malefor."

"Yes, Malefor has no idea we supply information to the rebels beyond the wall...or offer safe passage to others like myself," said Hakris.

"Aren't you worried about being exposed?" asked Spyro.

"I was an actor before the disaster," said Hakris smugly.

...

A few hours later...

Spyro had been left on his own in Harkis' house after Hakris had gone off to take care of something. His mind was abuzz with all the news he had received that day. Malefor being alive, what he'd done to yet another world, but most importantly, Cynder and if she was ok.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Spyro wasn't quite sure how to operate the doors yet so he called, "Come in." The knock came again, this time ending with a heavier thump. Spyro got a little worried about that. Something didn't seem quite right with that second knock.

He walked up to look at the handle when it flew open and the guard from outside slumped forward, a knife in its back. The 'volunteer' from the ascension centre stepped over him with a manic look. Spyro stepped back. This man looked very unstable and quite dangerous.

"You...you took everything," said the man, wide eyed, reaching down to the dead trooper's body and pulling the rifle from the man's grip.

"Wait, wait, I'm not the one you're after," said Spyro, backing up even more, "Just put the weapon down and try to calm down."

"Shut up...YOU DON'T GET TO SPEAK, YOU...THING!" yelled the man, the gun's muzzle shaking.

Spyro backed up until he was almost at the wall. He had to find some way out of here. He doubted he'd be able to talk his way out of this one and using a breath ability would probably just set him off.

"I'm gonna shoot you...for your crimes," said the man, suddenly deadly calm. It was then that Spyro got some luck as the 'dead' trooper groaned and reached for his pistol. The man turned and screamed "NOOO!" shooting again and giving Spyro the chance to run past and out the door.

Spyro ran as fast as he could. He didn't have a real plan, he just needed to put a lot of distance between himself and that maniac. A hail of bullets bounced around him, the crazy man now in pursuit. Spyro heard a cry behind him but didn't risk turning as that would slow him down and the wing 'clamps' were in place. The forest seemed a good idea...especially when after a second he saw lights. He just ran for the lights as fast as he could, moving around trees and bushes.

He yelped as hands grabbed him and pulled him off the path before a voice said, "Easy there, we're not with the rebels. General Avarona sent us to get you."

"General who?" asked Spyro.

"Avarona, she's the leader's second in command," said the trooper while another was using a miniature cutter to try and break the wing clamps.

Spyro's suspicions started to rise. "Which leader?" he demanded.

"Lord Malefor..." said the trooper before looking at a tablet of some kind.

"Uh, I think I'll go find somewhere else to get these removed," said Spyro, turning around.

The trooper said, "As you wish," and as Spyro turned, pulled out a pistol and leveled it at Spyro's head. Spyro quickly breathed a blast of super-cold air at the trooper.

The trooper screamed and fell back, frozen. Spyro turned as the other's leveled rifles at him. "Malefor wants you dead, traitor," said another trooper before throwing a handful of dust in Spyro's face. Spyro coughed loudly on the dust and suddenly felt very dizzy and weak.

"Dragonbane...no more fireballs," said one of the troopers before aiming at Spyro. Spyro closed his eyes and winced as he heard a gunshot.

Spyro winced, expecting to feel a blinding pain. But when no pain came, he slowly opened one eye.

The trooper fell back, gurgling with a hole in his forehead. The rest of the troopers started firing blindly into the woods before two more shots were heard, with two more troopers dropping dead.

Spyro looked around and asked, "What's going on here?"

Several people from the town, holding rifles appeared just after the last one ran off. The commander and a few of his men were also there, the commander walking towards Spyro.

"Uh, for the record, I only ran because that guy from the ascension center was trying to kill me," said Spyro.

The commander yelled, "Do I look like I believe you? Someone shoot this guy."

"He's telling the truth," said a voice. Hakris appeared, holding the lunatic with his tail. "I found this man redhanded," said Hakris, "Of course his words are more than enough to convict him."

"Get off me, you freak of nature." screamed the man before glaring at the commander. "Why are you standing there? Get this thing off me." Hakris dropped the guy's knife at the commander's feet. The commander glared before saying, "Get that purple gecko back to the town...and leave that nutter where the militia will find him. He killed my men, he can stay here."

Spyro walked over to Hakris and said, "I suppose I'm still not liked here yet."

"Malefor has killed alot of Mr Lynch's men," said Hakris, as two of Lynches troopers tied and gagged the lunatic to a tree near the dead militia.

"Lynch, what an appropriate name," said Spyro dryly.

"From what I hear, he has lost alot: his parents, his sister, all in a few months. His own country is a wasteland," said Hakris, walking alongside Spyro and his 'escort'.

"I know how that feels," said Spyro.

"We all do." said Hakris, as they walked back into the town. "You left someone, back in wherever the commander found you," he said after a minute.

"Yes, Cynder," said Spyro, "I don't know where she is now."

Hakris said "She will be safe. Malefor is quite obviously very protective of his fellow dragons."

"Not all dragons..." muttered Spyro.

Hakris said "I'm sorry?"

"Never mind," said Spyro, "I suppose nothing changes for me, right?"

"Once Commander Lynch realizes you have about as much loyalty to Malefor as I do, you will probably be sent to live with the rest of the immune ascended," said Hakris.

"Immune ascended?" said Spyro, "I wasn't ascended. I was hatched a dragon. Admittedly, I was raised by dragonflies before I knew I was a dragon, but still."

"The commander won't care," said Hakris, before saying, "Sleep, it is a long day tomorrow."

...

Matt was looking at the latest reports about their attack when Hakris came in behind him. "What do you want?" he said.

Hakris said, "I wish to talk to you about Young Spyro."

Matt sneered and said, "The purple pain?"

"Spyro is a lot more different than you think," said Hakris.

"Huh...he's just another..." began Matt and Hakris said "...dragon? I have known you since the black months. I remember the frightened child in my survivor group...and I remember how kind you were...so willing to give people a chance."

"A lot has changed since then," said Matt, "You should know that better than I do."

"I know enough that you are in mortal danger of turning into a clone of your enemy," said Hakris, darkly

"Oh please," said Matt, "Spyro's the one with the identical skin color, not me."

"You know what I mean," said Hakris.

Matt didn't turn, until Hakris said, "What would your sister think if she could see you now?"

Matt winced and said, "You should know better than to bring her up."

Hakris said harshly, "She would be disgusted to see how...rage filled you have become."

Matt tensed up before saying, "I suppose you have a point. I guess my old dinosaur hatred needed a new outlet. But don't expect me to start a buddy camp or anything."

"I simply ask that you treat him, if not with respect but with some tolerance. He is not Malefor," said Hakris.

"I'd like to have a DNA test to confirm it," muttered Matt.

Hakris smiled, "I suppose that's the closest I will get. Until the next time we meet...farewell."

...

Spyro was half asleep when he noticed that commander Lynch was standing in the doorway, just staring.

"If you've come to put a knife between my ribs, get it over with," said Spyro, "I'd rather not have to wait."

"No...I've come to take a look. You claim you fought Malefor..." said Lynch, raising a hand and making a wrist blade slide out. "...prove it."

"Uh, how so?" asked Spyro.

Lynch clicked out a second blade and lunged at Spyro. "Let's see how good you are," he said.

Spyro jumped back and said, "I don't want to fight without a good reason."

"I do..." said Lynch, making another slash.

Spyro dodged again and said, "I don't want to have to fight you."

"Then you're gonna get pretty badly hurt," said Lynch, kicking Spyro in the mid section and out the door into the street, to the surprise of the guard outside and the townsfolk.

Spyro got back up and said, "Alright, you asked for it."

Matt smirked before yelling at a trooper who aimed at Spyro. "No...I'll do this personally."

Spyro pawed the ground before charging at Matt. However, when he got close, he went to the side, avoiding Matt's blades, and knocked Matt's feet out from under him with a sweep of his tail.

Matt rolled with it and was up before Spyro could turn, leaving a shallow, almost paper cut in Spyro's arm. "What's wrong? Out of practice? You claim you beat Malefor...I said prove it," said Matt, hopping just out of clawing range.

Spyro snorted fire but stopped. "You want proof? I'll give it to you." Spyro charged, going faster than he did before.

Matt grabbed the horns as he was pushed back before running up the wall as they reached it and, to his surprise as much as Spyro's ended up wall running and flipping over the dragon. "Wow...motion sickness should not be in a sparring match," he muttered before turning.

He was caught off guard as Spyro slammed his head into his stomach, knocking all the wind out of Matt.

Matt staggered back before kicking some dust in Spyro's face and delivering a one-two slash to the dragon's chest followed by a roundhouse kick.

The fight pretty much degenerated from there, filled with a lot of clawing, punching, biting, kicking, smacking, cutting, and pretty much any dirty trick you can think of.

Hakris finally arrived and stared in shock at the fight. Matt was now forgetting it was a sparring match. In his mind he saw Malefor...albeit a smaller version in front of him. The fight was started to get a bit out of hand there. Spyro was starting to realize that Matt really meant to kill him now and he was thinking he would have to blast him.

Spyro ducked back as Matt made another slash and said, "Hey...you got to get a grip. You don't want to kill me...I think."

Just then, Matt punched Spyro on the snout, which sent Spyro toppling. Matt was getting ready to run Spyro through when a tingling feeling started from his shoulder and spread across his body.

Spyro shook the stars from his vision to see Matt slump sideways, Hakris taking his front paw off Matt's shoulder. "Are you ok, Spyro?" he said.

Spyro winced a bit and said, "Fine, nothing some red crystals won't fix."

"I don't know what you mean," said Hakris before turning to one of Matt's men, "Get a medical kit for these cuts..."

…

Later, Matt was back in his office, getting a rather thorough chewing-out from Hakris. "That was completely unnecessary. Did you want to kill that boy for some trivial reason?" snapped Hakris.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that," retorted Matt, only to be knocked over by Hakris who said, "You are walking a fine line, Matthew. You are letting your anger turn you down a very dark road. That 'dragon' is a child...just a child. He has lost someone already and having who should be an ally try to cut his throat will not help."

"Everyone's lost someone," said Matt, "It's pretty much the norm these days."

"All the more reason that he needs all the help he can." said Hakris.

Matt grumbled and said, "Fine, the kid can come alone. That doesn't me I accept him, though."

…

Meanwhile, Cynder was given a very comfortable suite in a local hotel. But even with the plush furnishings, she was still very worried about Spyro.

"He'll be fine." was the same mantra that ran through her mind, although a dark part of her was entertaining how she would repay those responsible. Those dark thoughts unnerved Cynder. They reminded her alot of what she once was. What she had tried to leave behind.

Finally, Avarona came to see her, looking troubled.

"Avarona, has there been any news?" asked Cynder.

Avarona said, "I'm so sorry. Our scout team followed the rebels but..."

"What? What happened?" demanded Cynder.

"They killed him...we were too late," said Avarona.

"What? But that's...impossible," said Cynder weakly.

Avarona looked sad "I'm truly sorry." she lied.

"No...no...that can't be right..." said Cynder.

"It is true, I am afraid. My men saw the execution themselves. Only one made it back." said Avarona.

"This cannot be..." said Cynder, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry...these rebels have been nothing but marauding menaces. These violent humans," said Avarona, playing the part of sympathy like a pro.

Cynder gritted her fangs, trying hard not to lose her temper and quell any thoughts of violent revenge.

"Our leader has come to pay his respects, he's just outside," said Avarona.

"I just want...to be alone," said Cynder.

Avarona gently nudged Cynder to the door. "He will help you feel much better...more like yourself," she said.

"I don't think he can," muttered Cynder.

"Oh, but I can, very easily," said a deep voice.

Cynder immediately tried to back up. "No...you're dead...I saw you die," she said.

"You may have seen it, but it wasn't death," said the deep voice.

Cynder backed away as the deep voice's owner came into view. "And now...you are alone...and mine again."

"No! No! I'm not going back to you!" cried Cynder as she backed up.

Malefor laughed harshly before his eyes glowed "You act like you have a choice, my dear...would you not like a chance to destroy those who took Spyro from you?"

Spyro fought against it, but her dark desires were becoming stronger.

After a minute she began to glow with a sickly convexity glow. "Welcome back, my dear." said Malefor evilly.

**End of Chapter 8**


	11. Chapter 10

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter 10**

_'What the hell is that purple...freak doing here? These dragons are nothing but trouble and this 'Spyro' is the worst. He's on the base grounds until we can get him transport to one of the refugee stations and he is turning up every day, wanting to see Commander Lynch. As if we didn't have enough problems. We've been getting a few scrambled calls from the West, around what used to be __Romania__. I don't know what's going on there, but I get a feeling we'll be sending in a troop to find out soon. Its made worse with the constant reports coming in from the security wall section there. If those reports are accurate then I pity the luckless sod who gets assigned there...'_

_Extract from Log of Lt Cmdr Christopher Anderson_

_..._

Matt had often been in want of several things over the last few years; bigger guns, more men, a fighting chance, a big ass gun, a operating vehicle, the mother of all big guns. But first time, he found himself wanting something he'd never thought he would want, a secretary. He put down another report from the security wall about a new general, codenamed 'Sky terror' by the report writer and picked up another request for reinforcements from the security wall section at the romanian border and sighed. "I don't need this..." he said to himself, adding "Least nothing else can happen."

Just then, a guard came in and said, "Sir, that purple lizard wants to talk to you...again." "Get rid of him." said Matt, in an annoyed voice. The guard said "Er...he looks like he's not in the mood to be turned..." before seeing Matts glare and added "I'll get rid of him, sir." The guard left back through the door. Matt sighed and said, "Maybe now I can get a little-" Suddenly, the same guard came right back through the door, propelled by what looked like a flail made of green energy. Needless to say, this got Matt's full attention. "What the hell?" he said as Spyro came in through the door, looking smug.

"Did you just go Green Lantern on my guard?" demanded Matt. "Green what?" asked Spyro. Matt rolled his eyes and said "Ok...you have my attention...what the hell do you want?" "Like I've been saying, I want to help take down Malefor," said Spyro. "Ok...you have 10 seconds to sell it to me...why should I let a kid fight a guy who has so far resisted entire tank divisions?" said Matt. "Because I defeated him before," said Spyro, "Back in my own world." Matt stared before laughing. "Oh, thats a good one." he said.

"Really, I did, he tried to destroy Avalar before we could stop him. I know him better than you do," said Spyro. Matt glared, sorely tempted to put this little purple pain out of Matts misery before the request form caught his eye. "Well...I do know a way you could help me." he said, with a nasty grin.

...

Spyro was developing a dislike for the human's flying machines. They were a lot less smooth and accommodating than the pirates' vessels. The only advantage he saw about them was that they were faster. It also didn't help that he wasn't alone in the cargo chopper, a double dozen number of human troopers also sharing the cramped space. Matt had said how the settlement the chopper was going to needed help but now Spyro had the feeling that Matt had bent the truth a little. One of the human soldiers mentioned that the place was nicknamed 'Hells half-mile'.

However, that was as much information Spyro was able to get. Nobody wanted to talk to the purple dragon. Spyro had gotten plenty of 'evil eyes', probably even more when his back was turned. A voice, probably the pilot said "We are hitting the dirt in 5...stand by, all personnel." The light in the chopper then turned red with a buzzing noise and the humans all got up, checking their rifles and gear. Spyro more than half-wished that he had some armour to wear, but since dragon scales were bullet-proof, nobody felt that he needed anything.

The back hatch opened out into its ramp form and the troopers all ran out into the snow and cold outside. One trooper remaining yelled "Get your tail moving." Spyro glared back and said, "Sorry, I haven't quite up a resistance to cold yet." "Do I look like I give a shit? Get your butt moving before I shoot it off." yelled the trooper. Spyro grumbled before walked off of the chopper. He held his wings close as the freezing winds started to batter against him.

There was a large camp outside the chopper, lots of humans walking around, tanks and other armed vehicles sitting in the snow, even a couple of attack helicopters circling and more precisely, a 15 feet high wall topped with twin barreled cannons. missile launchers and walkways with troopers. A voice said "Commanders having a laugh...sending a damn flying flamethrower..." Spyro glared towards the source of the voice and muttered, "I don't just breathe fire." The commander said "I don't care if you spit rainbows and sunshine...as long as its aimed at those things behind the wall." "What kind of things?" asked Spyro.

"Fly up and take a look...oh...and wear this." said the commander, nodding to another trooper who tossed a collar of some kind over to Spyro, big enough to fit around his paws wrist. The commander added "...unless you want a patriot missile to meet you." "What's this for?" asked Spyro. "Stops the security wall AA sites blowing you in half." said the trooper who had tossed the device over. "Oh, that's important," said Spyro as he tried to fasten the wristband on.

The trooper said "I'm commander Harrison...welcome to 'hells half-mile'...The only place more fucked up then the rest of the planet." An alarm immediatly began to ring and someone on the wall yelled 'HORDE!' before the guns on the wall started firing. Harrison said "What're you waiting for, lizard...get up there and help." "What? What's going on?" asked Spyro. "Learn on the job, get moving!" snapped Harrison. Spyro spread his wings, shook them to lose the slight layer of ice and show and took off. After a minute he could see what was being shot at. It looked like unarmed humans, except they looked like they'd already been shot repeatedly.

As he got closer, he could see these were not ordinary humans. What could be seen of their skin was extremely shrivelled and, in some places, missing. Their eyes were completely blank was they stumbled forward. One of the newcomers chest became covered in red as a trooper on the wall fired at it, however, unlike the militia at the ascension centre, this human wasn't even bothered apart from a stagger. It finally slumped as a round took the top of its head off.

Spyro felt a shudder unrelated to the cold. These humans reminded him of what became of the apes; still moving even though they were dead. A chopper flew past spyro and fired a salvo of rockets into a cluster, sending them flying in a huge explosion. Another fired a much larger nose-mounted machinegun that practically shredded the undead horde. Spyro flew down close and started breathing fire onto the undead. Their dry skin caught fire immediately and burned quickly.

However the zombies were so many that it took 3 hours before the horde was eradicated. Spyro was exhausted when he finally landed behind the wall. The wall cannons were still firing at a few stragglers as Harrison walked up "Well...looks like you're gonna be useful after all." he said to Spyro. "I...fought skeletons...before," said Spyro between pants. "Skeletons, you say. Heh...guess Lynch does know who to send after all. He sent us a bonafide zombie killer." said Harrison with a not unfriendly laugh.

But where did they come from?" asked Spyro. "From the romanian dead zone...literally named as it turns out." said Harrison, waving for Spyro to follow to a tunnel into the nearby hillside and into a well lit base. "Place is a nightmare...nothing livings ever come out of that place." Harrison added. "The dead come back to life for no reason," said Spyro, "Something has to be reanimating them." "Look...most of the divisions that could do the job are up north, trying to kick the ass of the rest of your...of the other dragons." said Harrison.

Spyro frowned and said, "Nothing will change if we just defend. We need to find the source of these creatures." "So...these skeletons...what animated them?" said Harrison, grabbing a pack of something called an 'MRE' from a open crate that smelled vile to Spyro. "An undead king," said Spyro. Harrison looked confused. "A zombie king? Thats new." he said. "You think one of them may be here?" asked Spyro. Harrison shrugged before a device oon his chest armour beeped. He grabbed it and said "Harrison...what do you mean there's a ariel contact on radar? Have you hailed it?"

"We're trying, but we're not really getting any clear answers," came the reply. "Dammit...we don't get them to hold so we can escort em in, the SAM's will blow em apart." said Harrison. "I could put my wristband on their ship," said Spyro, "Then they wouldn't shoot, right?" "No...you'd be dog meat then." said Harrison, before getting an idea. "Andrews...get another of those IFF bracelets...on the double." "Right sir," said one of the soldiers before heading back. Harrison said "Ok...you need to make sure they come THIS way...the IFF's only for for specific sections so be careful." "Ok, I'll be sure to get them from their underside, wouldn't want them to shoot at me," said Spyro. "I doubt they're flying a warplane." said Harrison.

...

Spyro was flying over the deserted romanian countryside. A few random zombies could be seen raising their arms as Spyro flew overhead, not caring that Spyro was out of reach. "And I thought the apes were creepy," said Spyro, "At least they had bare bones." Finally a droning noise was heard ahead and a small plane came into view, spyro having to roll to avoid hitting it. A person could be seen at the controls, looking clearly terrified, two children could be seen in the back.

"I better keep out of sight," said Spyro, "I don't want to scare them any more than they already are." However, the pilot had already spotted Spyro and was making motions to look behind. Spyro looked confused and until he looked back. Something was flying behind the plane. It was some sort of grotesque winged monster with skin that looked like stone.

The creature roared and tried to grab the tail of the plane before it noticed Spyro and snarled, a red glow coming from its mouth. "I think some earth power is needed here," said Spyro before spitting a ball of earth energy at the creature. The creature yelped before rolling to avoid it. It now concidered Spyro a bigger threat and flew after him, his claws coming close to grabbing spyro. However another problem was coming as the wall was now in sight and the plane still had no IFF. "I don't have time for this," said Spyro before swing an earth flail at the monster.

The creature yelped before stopping and roaring defiance before flying back. Spyro nodded before heading back towards the plane. However, as he got close, a sudden thought hit him. 'How am I supposed to put this thing on it?' The guns were already turning to follow, however, as Spyro was too near, they were refusing to fire as their primitive computers calculated that they would hit the IFF owner...Spyro if they fired. Spyro looked over the plane for something he could clamp the IFF onto.

After a minute he managed to tie it round one of the wheels...just in time as the plane came into range of the walls guns. The guns pointed at the plane for a few seconds before standing down. Spyro watched as the plan came to a landing behind the wall and several troopers ran up to see to it. The pilot jumped out and started yelling in a language Spyro didn't understand before spotting Spyro and running over to him and grabbing his paw, clearly grateful.

"Uh, you're welcome?" said Spyro. The troopers ran up and pulled the man away and over to Harrison who apparently spoke the same language. Harrison however didn't seem convinced by what was being said.

...

Later that night, Spyro found Harrison on the battlements. He appeared to be deep in thought. "So, what did those people on the aircraft have to say?" asked Spyro. Harrison reached for his pistol on reflex before seeing it was Spyro. "Damn. Don't do that...Those guys on the plane...said they'd been hiding out since the black months. He's obviously shellshocked...said how a dead dragon was ruling the whole area." he said. "A dead dragon?" asked Spyro.

"Thats what he said...some creep thats set up camp in a castle in the transylvanian mountains..." said Harrison. "Is that far from here?" asked Spyro. "Yeah...a long way. The problem is that he says he still has family there. He's begged for a rescue mission...but I'm not sending any team in without air support...which I can't spare." said Harrison. "You think we should call for help?" asked Spyro. "For what? To be chasing some superstitious shadow?" said Harrison, "I know zombies are nothing to sneeze at, but I don't think your kind is the type to rise from their own graves."

Spyro said "I can fly...and these aren't the first living dead that I've faced." Harrison looked at Spyro like he'd sprouted an extra head "Are you nuts?" he said. "It'll just be to look, I know when not to fight," said Spyro. Harrison said "Its not that...Me...I haven't got the luxury of turning my nose up at someone who can fight...but alot of my men...many of them have or had family in the occupied sectors...lots of bad blood there." "Well, we have to find some way to stop these things," said Spyro, "I mean, we could have those corpses battering at our doors and those flying creatures coming down on us."

"Those flyers have learnt the hard way why the security walls called the 'deadline'. They don't get in...fine...you'll be going with a squad to that plane guys town to get any survivors...and you're flying support for them...literally." said Harrison. "You have anything that transport them all?" asked Spyro. "There's a couple of old russian BMP's. They'll be in them." said Harrison before adding as an afterthought "Be careful out there..." "You don't need to tell me twice," said Spyro.

...

At dawn, the next day, the team had assembled to go. They were already in a bad mood from the early start and when they saw Spyro, their mood didn't improve. "Why has that gotta come?" complained one. "Because there's bounds to be plenty more of those things down in there," said Harrison, "And you're gonna need plenty of firepower to keep from being overwhelmed." "Then send a HIND with us. I don;t want that backstabbing freak anywhere near..." said the trooper before Harrison yelled in his face "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU 'LIKE', CORPORAL. WE CAN'T SPARE A GUNSHIP SO HE'S THE NEXT BEST THING!"

"Gee, glad to know I'm so well-thought of," said Spyro before pausing and saying, "I'm starting to sound like Sparx." The Sergeant of the squad said "You heard the commander...get your asses in those transports before I kick you into them." The troops grumbled a bit, but they promptly got into their vehicles. Spyro turned to Harrison and said, "I can't fly all the time. At some point, I need to stop and rest my wings." "Then I'd learn to glide. I don't think those guys'll allow you to take a breather." said Harrison as the engines of the BMP's started up. Spyro sighed and said, "Not too many trees big enough for me to perch in."

...

The lands behind the wall were creepy. From his position hovering over the human vehicles, Spyro could see the signs of inhabitation. There were dozens of abandoned or burnt out cars on the road, easily pushed aside by the transports. Spyro's eyes could also pick out that a few cars still had 'occupants' in the form of skeletons. To make matters even more eerie, there was a thick fogbank stretching pretty much everywhere.

After a few hours, Spyro could see one of the squad waving him to the ground and saying. "Ok...the town we're headed for is at the foot of that mountain. You get the honour of taking a look...and telling us what kinda welcome we're gonna get. You get back here in 1 hour or I will make your life a hell as only a sergeant can." "What, you couldn't find a goat to send it?" asked Spyro. The sergeants eyes narrowed before yelling with such force that Spyro thought for a second he was going to fall over "DO I LOOK LIKE I'M LAUGHING?" "Ok, ok, I'm going," said Spyro, "Sheesh, even Moleyair's brother didn't shout that loud."

...

Spyro's flight to the town didn't take long. A dozen or so people were out in the street and looked in his direction as he circled. "I hope they're friendlier than the soldiers," said Spyro as he landed nearby. They stared in shock as he landed and spoke in romanian to each other. One of them however said in careful accented english "You come from castle?" "What castle?" asked Spyro. The speaker pointed further up the mountain behind the town to where even Spyro, with his dragonic vision could only just see several spires. "No, I've never seen that place before," said Spyro.

The human said "You should leave...this bad place. The master will try to take you." Spyro growled and said, "The Dark Master won't get me that easily." The human looked frightened and muttered a word...'Nosforatu', whatever that was. Spyro sighed before saying, "There are soldiers coming to help you leave this village. They'll take you back to our base where it will be safe." The human said "Nowhere is safe from Nosforatu. Victor was foolish to try to leave...now the master has them."

"No, he's fine," said Spyro, "Victor made it to our base." Spyro was about to continue when there was a yell behind him as the two BMP's rumbled into view, the sergeant yelling "I SAID AN HOUR, PURPLE BOY!" Spyro turned and said, "That couldn't have been an hour yet." "Then you're not as clever as I thought...who's your new friend? I presume you found out something actually useful." said the sergeant. Spyro growled a bit before turning to the villager and asking, "Who are you again?" "Alexia. I am mayor here." said the human and indicating the gold chain he was wearing.

"Oh, I see," said Spyro, "Well, these are the soldiers I mentioned. We can see you safely out now." One of the troopers said "Not a chance...it'll be suicide to walk around in the dark in this place." Mayor Alexia also said "No...is madness. His creatures roam at night...better to leave in morning. Come, come." "Suicide, madness, same thing in this case," said the trooper as they followed the mayor. One of the troopers looked at Spyro before saying "You're on night duty..."

...

Spyro found that he didn't like night duty, particularly since the fog kept rolling in. He could hear the laughs of his 'teammates' from the house behind him. He was about to go and try and get something to eat when someone dropped a tray with a side of roasted mutton on it. Spyro turned to see one of the women from the town. However she fled before he could say anything. Spyro sniffed the mutton and almost immediately his mouth began to water. He was so busy being offended, he forgot how hungry he was.

After a few minutes, he had licked up the last of the juices from the tray and that was when it hit home...he wasn't on his world. Most of him had known that already but a small part had hoped that Warfang was just extremely far away. He felt a wave of loneliness wipe over him. So many friends that he might never see again, he wasn't even sure if Cynder was still here either. It was at that moment that he heard a scrabbling noise from the direction the mutton girl had gone...followed by a scream.

Spyro stood up at that. He quickly ran over to see what was going on. He ran round a corner to see what he thought at first was a avalarian wolf clan member, holding the mutton girl in a headlock, the girl bleeding from a nasty bite wound. The wolf turned to look at Spyro before sneering, snapping the girls neck and throwing the body at Spyro. Spyro dodged the body and the wolf turned and fled. "Hey! Come back here!" yelled Spyro.

He was about to take off when he heard a voice say "Oh my god." He turned to see that the rest of the squad had also heard the scream, all of them present with several of the town. "Wait, I didn't do it," said Spyro, "It was that wolf." The troopers didn't seem convinced, all levelling their guns at Spyro. "You murdering motherfu-." began one trooper. However, he never finished it as another of the wolves jumped down from the roof, landing on his back and starting to maul him. The townsfolk immediately panicked, a few screaming 'werewolves' while heading for their homes.

Spyro immediately spat a lightning bolt at the wolf. Fortunately, its back was turned to him so he got a critical hit. However there were a dozen more wolves to replace their comrade. The sergeant yelled for them to all open fire. Most of them were being torn apart though. One of them yelled for Spyro to 'Get the sarge out' before one of the wolves tackled him to the ground. Spyro turned and charged back to where the soldiers were staying, barrelling through any wolf that got in his way.

The sarge was surrounded by a dozen of the wolves, and still shooting. As Spyro came into view, the sarges rifle ran dry and he threw it at a charging wolf. "Get down!" shouted Spyro before he let out an even larger amount of electrical power at the wolves. One of the sarges troopers yelled "We gotta get outta here...or we're all dead...purple dude...get the sarge outta here." Spyro went over to the sarge and tried to pick him up, with some difficulty. "It'd be easier if I had someone to help," said Spyro to himself.

The trooper who had yelled span and fired a burst that flicked a lunging wolf out of the sky where it had been about to land on Spyro's back. "Get going..." "I'm trying," said Spyro, "I don't have thumbs like you do." He finally got a grip and managed to lift the yelling sergeant off the ground, not helped that the sarge was intent on not going.

...

After a few minutes, Spyro had to land in the nearby forest as the Sergeant had threatened to stab his paw. "If you had stayed back there, those wolves would have finished you off," said Spyro. The sergeant glared before sighing and saying "Dammit...Fine...we wait here...see if anyone else arrives." "Right," said Spyro before asking, "What did those villagers call those wolves?" "Werewolves. They're supposed to be make believe...then again...so are dragons." said the sergeant. "What are werewolves?" asked Spyro.

"Half human, Half wolf...all attitude if the stories and what we saw are correct." said the sergeant, before lifting his rifle as a rustling was heard and one of the team staggered out of the undergrowth. The sergeant lowered his rifle and said, "Well, at least we know it hasn't been a total massacre. Are there any more behind you?" "No...those damn things were just knocking people out and dragging them off. I think they took Corporal Anders and Private riggs...they killed everyone else...and they took our damn transports." said the trooper before glaring at Spyro and saying "As for you, you little deserter..."

"That's out of line, soldier," snapped the sergeant, "He might have gone AWOL, but he saved my life. I don't think anyone else did any better." The trooper glared at Spyro before saying "Understood...sir." The sergeant said "Ok...so we know some of our people are still alive. There is no way in hell I am leaving them behind." "Like we can leave at all," said the trooper, "We don't have any wheels and that little lizard doesn't look strong enough to fly us back."

Spyro growled as he started to finally reach the end of his patience. The sergeant spotted this and yelled "STOW IT...BOTH OF YOU! IF YOU TWO IDIOTS CAN'T GROW UP, WE MIGHT AS WELL SHOOT OURSELVES NOW!" The trooper and Spyro glared at each other but stood down. "Suicide might be better than what those monsters will do when they get their hands on us," he said. "We were caught with our pants down last time. This time we know what we're dealing with. This time WE'RE the ones causing the damage." said the sergeant.

...

Malefors representative glared from her position in the shadows. She'd been sent by Malefor to make an alliance with the necromancer he had sensed...instead she had been forced to talk to this 'Duke Lupo'. As she thought of this, the duke returned "My master apologises again for not being able to appear...he...isn't suitable to be seen in public yet." said the human...or at least he looked human.

"I do not want to waste my time speaking through underlings," growled Malefor's representative, "Nor does my master." "My master has...an important task that requires his attention at all times. I am authorized to speak on his behalf." said Duke Lupo. "Your master is apparently not picky about who he sends to represent himself," said Malefor's speaker. "I assure you, My lady. I am more then capable of serving my mas...excuse me, my lady." said Lupo as a werewolf came in. Malefors speaker watched as Lupo went off and exchanged words with the werewolf before coming back. "I am sorry, My lady. Another attack on the humans border wall has failed. I must see to preparing the replacements." he said

"You're just throwing infantry at their walls? You'll never defeat them like that," said Malefor's representative. "We do not have heavy machinery here. My master prefers...the old ways but his condition means he cannot leave the castle for the moment." said Duke Lupo. "My master prefers the old ways as well," said the figure in the shadow, "But he has learned to move with the times." "Then perhaps we can help each other...breach the wall for our forces and I am certain my master will support yours." said Lupo.

"That sounds like an interesting proposition," said the shadowy figure, "But how do I know that your master will keep his end of the bargain?" Lupo shuddered before his eyes glowed purple and he said in a very different voice "My word is my bond, General."

...

Meanwhile, Spyro's group had followed the werewolves to where they had taken their prisoners, which happened to be a big spooky castle. It looked like something right out of a Universal monster movie, including the foreboding thunderclouds hanging over it. "Well...this doesn't look like a deathtrap at all." said the trooper, whose name was Rick, in a sarcastic tone. "I've seen worse places," said Spyro. The sergeant said "Looks like its not just those damn wolves on guard..." pointing to where two humans were on guard, holding old bolt action rifles, and looking zoned out.

"Something tells me that they won't welcome our rescue attempt," said Spyro. The sergeant said "They don;t seem up to date on events...humour me...just go fly over them." "Ok," said Spyro before taking off. He fully expected the guards to start shooting at him, but all they did was stare blankly forward. "Well done..now you just drop us in the courtyard." said the sarge, with a smirk at Rick.

Spyro slowly glided down into the courtyard. The guards outside may have seemed inattentive, but he wasn't taking his chances. The sarge and Rick, as soon as they touched down, sneaked up on the two guards and knocked them out before dragging them out of view. "Was it me, or was that too easy?" asked Rick. The sarge nodded "Too easy...but we're here now...so we find out where the dungeon is..." he said.

...

The inside of the castle was an even bigger stereotype than the outside. There were several tapestries, suits of armor, and various old furnishing best seen in a Dracula movie. Spyro peered at a suit of armour, trying to shake the feeling that it was looking at him. Rick, however, said "This place reminds me of that film with the..." before seeing sarges and spyro';s glares "...erm...never mind." "Try not to talk about that stuff," said the sergeant, "I'm half-expecting Igor to limp around the corner at any minute." "Who's Igor?" asked Spyro.

Sarge sighed before saying "I'll explain later." before there was a scream from below them. Rick said "Did I just hear that?" before a second scream was heard. "Someone's in trouble," said Spyro before heading in the direction of those screams. Sarge was about to call for Spyro to stop but it was too late...he'd gone down a passage. "Dammit...come on, we'd better catch him up." he said. "This place just keeps getting more and more like a horror movie," said Rick.

As soon as the two soldiers had caught up to Spryo, Rick said, "They've probably got someone on the rack or in thumbscrews." "Oh, they're not that medieval," said Sarge. Suddenly, there was a crackling light from behind a nearby door, accompanied by screaming. "Uh, see? It's clearly electrocution," said Sarge. A growling voice said "This ones done. Get rid of the body and get the next one." Rick and Sarge had to push Spyro from view as one of the werewolves came out, carrying a clearly dead person, one of the recon team.

"Ok, now that's just plain Frankenstein," said Rick. "Franken-what?" asked Spyro. Sarge rolled his eyes and said, "Soldier, get this whelp some horror movies when we get back so he can keep up with the references." "There must be another one in there." said Rick. Sarge nodded and drew a nasty looking serrated blade from a boot holster. "I'll deal with the asshole." he said, peering in to see another of the werewolves with its back to the door.

"Should we really just rush in there?" asked Spyro, "It could be a trap." Sarge shrugged before weighing his blade, knocking on the door and throwing it into the throat of the werewolf as it turned. "Thats for killing my boys." he said coldly as the werewolf slumped sideways. Spyro and Rick walked into the room after him. The walls were adorned with medieval weapons of various types, iron cauldrons hanging from pegs, and shelves holding jars containing indescribable things. Oddly enough, there was no signs of electricity in the room. There was only a brazier and some torchs on the wall.

Rick wandered up to a pedestal that had a wooden staff, with a gem twisted into the top of it, stuck in it. "Hey...I think I found a prop from harry potter." he joked before reaching for it. Spyro suddenly felt a shiver through his scales. "Uh, I wouldn't touch that if I were you," he said. Rick scoffed "Huh...you gotta learn to take chances if you're gonna last in the briga..." before being blasted across the room as he grasped the staff in a flash of green light. Spyro and Sarge ran over to Rick. "Solider, are you alright?" asked Sarge. "I'm just dandy," said Rick in a dazed voice, "How's my hair?" Spyro sniffed before saying "I think its smoking." Rick was about to reply when they heard a groan from the room nextdoor via a grille.

"Pull yourself together, we may be able to save someone," said Sarge as he headed for the door. The groans were coming from a room next to the torture chamber they had just left. The new door was alot more sturdy and held out from Sarges kick...but not from a headbutt from Spyro. There was only one soldier in there and he was pretty ravaged-looking and strapped to a gurney. Sarge went up to the trooper and wordlessly began working at the straps. the trooper turned a pain filled gaze to Sarge and managed to say "No...don't...get going...now."

"We're getting you out of here, soldier," said Sarge. The trooper began to convulse before grabbing Sarge in a surprisingly strong grip,m repeating "No. No no."over and over. "Soldier, this is no place for any sane human being... Say, were you an arm-wrestling champion back in your hometown? You've got an amazing grip." said Sarge before looking in surprise as the troopers gibberws began to turn into snarls.

Sarge managed to pull free as the troopers face began to distend into a muzzle and was covered in black fur. Sarge and the others stood back in horror as the trooper on the gurney mutated into a spitting image of the werewolves they had seen so far before howling loudly. "Whoa, the wolves back on Avalar couldn't do that," said Spyro. The sarge glumly pulled out his sidearm and fired a shot into the trooper...only for it not to work. At the same time the sounds of footsteps could be heard heading their way. "Uh, I think we've outstayed our welcome, sir," said Rick. Sarge looked at the snarling ex-trooper on the gurney before nodding. "Lets go..."

Spyro listened carefully and said, "I think they're coming from the direction we came. We'll have to go another way." The trio ran down the other corridor nd out into the courtyard to see their transport. "I think its time we left...and now." said Rick, running up to it and opening the rear hatch. "I agree," said Sarge, "We need a mile between us and this place ASAP." Spyro took off and looked down as the transport started up before the missile turret on top swivelled and fired into one of the tower behind before turning back and shooting the gate, driving out the hole.

"I think Avalar may be less crazy than this place," said Spyro to himself.

...

The trio headed back as fast as they could, Sarge trying to call the wall as they went. "...I'm telling you, nobodies picking up." said Rick. Sarge said "I don;t care..keep trying...Kid, you see anything up there?" "Uh, they weren't going to do any campfires, were they?" asked Spyro. "What? What can you see?" said Sarge. "Smoke, a big column of it," said Spyro. Sarge swore before saying "Step it up. Smokes never a good sign." The trio sped up before turing the final turning to see the wall...complete with a gaping hole in it and zombies swarming the camp beyond.

"Dammit," said Sarge, "Pull out the artillery." Rick shook his head "No chance...we used the last of the rockets breaking out of that castle." he said. Sarge swore before hearing a comm "...a transport headed to camp A...I;m serious..." "Well, at least we have some survivors," said Sarge. "This is Premier Camp to unidentified transport. Indentify yourselves." said a voice.

"We are friendlies, we've just escaped enemy territory and we'll be there mo-" started Sarge before something slammed against the transport and and knocked it onto its side. Spyro looked down to see one of the gargoyles had smashed into the side of the other two's transport, knocking it over. Two more gargoyles landed around it, one pulling at the top hatch of the transport. "Not more of these guys," said Spyro before dropping down towards the gargoyles. The gargoyle, trying to open the transport didn;t see Spyro till it was too late, Spyro tail whipping it off, also taking the hatch off the transport.

"Guys, move it," said Spyro into the transport. Sarge, pulled Rick out of the transport, before firing his sidearm into the face of a zombie as the wayward undead began to shuffle towards the stricken transports occupants. "I hate zombies," said Sarge before firing at them.

However, the gunshot had attracted more zombies. Very soon there were dozens, some still wearing camp uniforms. Things pretty much dissolved into a survivor's match between Spyro, the soldiers, and the zombies. After a few minutes, the trio had ended up in one of the camps solid buildings. Rick was especially depressed "We're screwed...those things are gonna tear us apart." he said. "I've been in worse fights than this," said Spyro, "I had to stop an entire army from invading a city once."

Sarge said "This is not the time...Premier camp knows we're here...they're probably sending a team right now." Rick laughed bitterly "Yeah right...they won't risk anything for two troopers and a fucking dragon." "You give up hope now and you might as well just let the zombies devour you," said Sarge. At that, there was a crash as a zombie began to smash the door down...only for the windows to light up with an orange light along with the 'whoosh' of a flamethrower being heard. "That would be the cavalry," said Sarge.

At that, the door burst open and a trooper ina biohazard suit and holding a flamethrower came in. Rick sighed "I hope we get R&R from this."

...

Matt looked at the report. "A single dragoness blew apart a 2 foot thick wall like it was sandstone." he said to the aide in front of him. "It wasn't just a little dragoness, this one's full-grown and had a lot of firepower," said the aide. "Doesn't matter...other dragons have tried...and failed. The report says this one took everything the AA guns threw at it." said Matt. "I don't understand it either," said the aide, "But then again, I can't really understand how there can be zombies and gargoyles either."

"What about the survivors of the recon team?" said Matt. The aide said "Mr Spyro was sent back...the other members are taking rest and relaxation." "Can't say I blame them," said Matt. "What should we do about Mr Spyro, sir? The commander of the recon team gave a shining report on his conduct." said the aide. "Nothing changes for him," said Matt.

The Aide nodded "Yes sir...about the report of 'werewolves', sir..." Matt said "Send additional mechanized armour down to Hells half mile...but we can't spare much else...the last thing we need is two wars at once." "Anyone in particular that we should send?" asked the aide. "Send Collins." said Matt, before looking at the report again. He had a feeling that whatever was in romania would come back to haunt them.

**End of chapter 10**


	12. Chapter 11

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter 11**

_"...And repeating our top story. Vulture Brigade Command was forced to mobilize 3 infantry squads to disperse a mob outside Refugee compound 4. Since Malefor's Enclave forced exile, many people have questioned the logic of letting ascended live in our territory._

_"Viewers may recall similar incidents during the Black Months. During this time, religious fanatics believed that the rift storms were the work of 'dark magic' and that the dinosaurs that appeared later were 'demons from hell'. Authorities, at the time and still now, regard these sentiments as 'utter rubbish'._

"_Commander Lynch held a conference saying that any more attempts at 'mob justice' will be treated as hostile action, reminding that the refugee camps were on military property."_

_"However, since dragons were shown to actually exist, superstition and paranoia are still high among civilians. Rumors have spread of groups forming to 'deal with the unholy problems'. But so far, no founded evidence has been revealed regarding this."_

Extract from CCN archives

...

Matt looked at the latest file, regarding more missing person cases. "This is getting ridiculous. The public's already on edge. The last thing we need are kidnappers too," he said.

"As if we weren't having enough trouble with the winged reptiles," said one of Matt's officers.

"Have the pterodactyls been annoying people again?" asked Matt.

"You know exactly what I mean, sir," said the officer, continuing as Matt glared, "Those 'ascended' threw their lot in with that Malefor guy. We should toss em out on their scaly asses."

"Not everyone was ascended on their own free will," said Matt, "And anyone who retains that free will is allowed to stay here."

"Huh...we can't spare the men to keep em under guard and if you ask me. They're perfectly capable of defending themselves," said the officer.

"Maybe so, but these mobs are doing a lot more harm than good, if any good at all," said Matt, "I won't tolerate any lynches here." He paused and said, "Uh, well, except for myself. I mean, well, oh, you know what I meant."

"Fine...Sir," said the officer, before leaving.

Matt sighed before closing down his computer. A knock got his attention. "Yeah?" he said, only to get the knock again. "Come in?" he said suspiciously, before, when the knock came again, opening a hidden panel and pulling a glock pistol out.

The door opened and a man wearing something that looked like a monk's robe was standing there. "Sinner," he called, "Thou hast tainted thy soul for showing mercy upon the corrupted ones. Thou shall pay for thy betrayal." The man pulled out a knife and charged at Matt.

Matt was so shocked by the outburst that the man managed to push him against the desk, knocking Matts gun out his hand before Matt just managed to hold the knife away. "What the hell's your problem?" Matt said, trying to reach for his fallen gun properly before kicking the man back.

"Thou hast let demonspawn and those corrupted by them into thy land," said the man, "Thy sin is betrayal to humanity."

The man immediately lunged again, only to meet Matt's fist coming the other way, the knife sent flying. "Look, man. Dunno how you got in here, but if you do this, you won't get out in one piece," he said.

"Thy sins are-" started the man.

"Ok, I got you the first time," said Matt, "But what do you think you're going to accomplish by knifing me?"

"There are others here more committed to the path. They allowed me entry to cleanse your soul," said the Man.

Matt just rolled his eyes before both of their gazes looked down at where the pistol was before both jumping for it. "Since when does stabbing someone counts as cleansing their soul?" said Matt as he tried to grab the pistol.

"I do not question the word of the prophet, Hawthorn," said the man.

Matt seeing a manic look in his eyes before he pushed the man back, finally holding the pistol. "Ok...you stay there," he said, aiming before with a free hand, turning on the intercom. "Security...got a nutter here...tried to stab me," he said

"What, like that guy that went after Spyro?" asked the security officer on the other end.

"Worse, I want a search on a 'Hawthorn' as well," said Matt.

"Hawthorn like the tree?" asked the security officer.

"Hawthorn as in a person. I'm sure my visitor will fill you in," said Matt.

"Repent, ignorant fool and you may a chance of redemp-" started the man before Matt kicked the side of his head.

"That is, once he wakes up," added Matt.

…

Hawthorn sighed, turning off the TV which reported of a failed assassination attempt. One of his aides said, "Why did we attack him at his office, prophet?"

"To show that transgressors against The Lord are not safe anywhere, whoever they may be," said Hawthorn, "Of course, I may have overestimated the skill of our agent."

"I remember this 'Lynch' from the black months. He inspires support. He also has a vengeful streak. He'll be looking for you, sir...especially if that idiot agent mentions you by name," said one of the aides.

"Then perhaps my presence shall put the fear of God into him," said Hawthorn, "There is much evil that much be purged in that town. It is our duty to slay those abominations."

...

Matt wasn't quite the patient type. He didn't want to sit in his office until he got a call regarding the information on Hawthorn. He decided to head over to the information center to see the data himself. Besides, he'd rather not chance another assassin trying to do him in.

The information center in Moscow was right up against the security wall that had been built by VB. It was also, for ease, near one of the gates. As such, Matt was well positioned when the alarm went off. He ran out to see a good dozen vehicles approaching, mostly trucks. The main feature was the impromptu armor and the mounted guns. Matt sighed and said, "I swear, if it's another gang of motorcycle marauders..."

The trucks came to a halt, in a surprising show of either bravery or stupidity, in range of the two T-100 tanks on duty and a figure got out, flanked by two people wearing robes and holding Remington 870 shotguns. The figure in the middle was a tall man, dressed in a black duster with a matching wide-brimmed hat. Underneath it, he seemed to be wearing priest's outfit with some army fatigues. But was really intriguing was that although his face and body didn't look a year over 35, his hair was pale grey.

Matt walked forward as well, nodding to the snipers over the gate. If this guy's mates tried anything, they'd get a .308 cal round between the eyes. "Can I help you...?" said Matt, leaving the question hanging in the classing 'and your name is' fashion.

"Matthew Lynch, my followers and I are on an important crusade," said the man with the grey hair, "We must enter this city."

"You don't demand anything of MY city. If you know my name, you know my rank. It's COMMANDER Lynch. What is your name, sir?" said Matt, immediately disliking this man as soon as he had tried to bark orders.

"Pardon me, I assumed my reputation was as far-ranged as yours," said the man, "I am Jacob Hawthorn."

Matt's eyes narrowed. "Ah yes...I had a visit from one of your associates...he tried to fillet me," he said, his tone practically sub-zero by now.

"Oh, so that's where he went," said Hawthorn, "I'm afraid he took a few things I've said too literally."

"He's currently a guest of my Internal Security. May I ask your business?" said Matt, the same formal, icy tone remaining.

"It is my belief that a plague is spreading into your city," said Hawthorn, "One that needs to be dealt with immediately."

"We have access to some pretty good medical gear thanks to the coalition refugees here. I would have heard about a health risk to the city," said Matt. He knew that wasn't what Hawthorn meant but he wanted to hear it from the guy's mouth.

"I'm afraid this plague is not one of the body, but one of the soul," said Hawthorn.

"The rift storms all ended when Malefor finished whatever it was he did. I ask again...and say it straight or I won't let you enter: Why. Are. You. Here?" said Matt, his temper starting to flare.

Hawthorn sighed and said, "Very well, Commander. The forces of Evil are extending their grip into the mortal realm, corrupting the souls of innocents with their agents. And I fear that such a large population as this is a big target for them. So I and my followers have come to help direct your citizens back to the light."

"If that includes attacking people then you can turn around and leave..." began Matt before taking a deep breath. For all he knew this guy was speaking the truth about the attack last night. "Fine...ground rules. No weapons until you get a permit. Two: I won't let homemade APC's into my city. They stay outside. Three: You try to and entice a riot, I'll have you shot. Are you clear?" he said.

"Commander, I am a messenger of peace, not war," said Hawthorn, "Our weapons are for those agents of darkness that are more...difficult to deal with."

"I don't care. My men are more than equipped to deal with anything. You hand in your weapons or you stay outside," said Matt, threateningly.

"Very well," said Hawthorn, before gesturing behind him, "We were prepared to operate under civilian conditions." The trailers the trucks were hauling opened up and more normal cars were driven out of them.

"The weapons?" said Matt, icily, before Hawthorn nodded slightly to his guards who handed their weapons over to the guards on the gate. Matt said coldly, "Welcome to New Moscow...enjoy your stay."

"We shall all prosper from this," said Hawthorn, stepping around Matt.

"Keep thinking that." said Matt, turning to the captain on guard. "Double patrols around the refugee compounds," he muttered.

...

Back at HQ, Matt looked at the file he'd found on Hawthorn. The person had apparently been part of a God-fearing family that had been convinced that the saurians had been demons sent from Hell. They had apparently made a movement for the government to exterminate them all, but the government had politely, too politely in Matt's opinion, declined and told them not to worry about the saurians.

Apparently the family's homestead had been ground zero for a class 12 third energy storm. Everyone had assumed nobody had survived...apparently one had.

Matt was about to carry on reading when his comm rang. "Sir...we got trouble at the Fairgreen compound." said an American voice, Matt having put some of Chris's men in charge of security there.

Matt responded, "It wouldn't happen to be a group of religious nuts, would it?"

"Good guess. Some crackpot called Hawthorn's doing a little soapbox speech outside. Want us to break it up?" said the trooper on the other end.

Matt sighed and said, "No...I'm coming down."

...

Matt pulled up his jeep to see a crowd outside the compound he had assigned to the Fairgreen clan. The Fairgreen clan took a bit of adjusting from moving from Seattle. But once they didn't need to rely on scavenging, it had prospered quite a bit, providing a fair portion of the internal crops and contributing to the medical centers.

Hawthorn had set up on a small crate just outside the gate and whatever he was yelling had attracted a fair number of people. Matt pushed his way forward in time to hear some of it.

"Citizens of New Moscow, you must take heed of the evil that is lurking around you. The forces of Hell are making their moves to claim every soul in this city. Their minions are hiding among you, tempting you into darkness. But all is not lost. Repent and spurn the evil, and you shall be saved!"

Matt glared as Hawthorn carried on, noticing with concealed alarm that some people looked like they were taking what Hawthorn was saying aboard.

"Beware their agents!" called Hawthorn, "You shall recognize them by their scales, their deadly claws and fangs, and their putrid breath. But the worse are the ones who have allied with the forces of darkness, ones who have sold their souls for dark powers: witches!"

Matt glared as Hawthorn pointed to the compound. "Such monsters lay beyond this fence, waiting for their chance," the man called out, waving a hand at the Fairgreen compound, "Do not let their seeming kindness fool you. The most dastardly face that evil can wear is the mask of goodness."

Hawthorn held up an unlit torch. "This is your chance to do what your leaders..." he began before Matt drew his pistol and shot the torch out of his grip.

"What the hell are you doing?" Matt yelled angrily, pushing his way forward

"I am merely spreading the good word," said Hawthorn.

"You're enticing a bloody riot is what you're doing," said Matt, grabbing Hawthorn by his collar. "You tell these people to disperse or I will make good on my threat at the gate," said Matt, darkly.

"A riot? I'm just telling them the truth that you have been denying," said Hawthorn. But Matt's expression did not change and Hawthorn said, "Very well." He turned to the crowd and said, "Return to your homes, make sure you guard your loved ones from the threats of corruption."

Matt continued to glare. "I want you out of here first light or my men will THROW you out. Are we clear?" he said without any attempt to conceal his contempt

"Commander, I do not see what the problem is. Don't tell me you're oppressing free speech," said Hawthorn.

"No. I'm opposing vigilante justice," said Matt.

"Is it wrong for people to protect themselves against threats?" asked Hawthorn.

"No...but my men are here to do that. I will not tolerate lynch mobs," said Matt, angrily

"How ironic," said Hawthorn.

"What's so ironic about- Oh, right, my surname," said Matt, anger briefly converting to annoyance. Matt pushed Hawthorn back at that. "Those people there are about as witch like as I am. You start trouble again and you won't leave town upright, are we clear?" he said threateningly.

Hawthorn looked at Matt for a few seconds before saying, "I believe we are."

"Good, if I even hear a rumor that you pulled a stunt like this, I'll shoot you myself," said Matt coldly

"Very well then," said Hawthorn before motioning to his men and walking away.

Matt glared before saying to the lead guard, "If they come back, arrest them," before walking into the compound.

…

He headed towards one treatment center, particularly for burns. Matt walked in and looked around. There was only one person being treated today and he was being treated by a certain red-haired woman in informal hospital scrubs.

"Kala...everything alright? That group outside looked nasty," he said.

"I heard something was going on, but I didn't quite here all of it," said Kala as she rubbing salve onto the patient's back, "Something about darkness?"

"Some whackjob claiming you're witches, the usual crap," said Matt.

Kala sighed and said, "People do tend to fear what they can't understand."

"Chris's men are on permanent guard and 2nd armor division's based a block away. Nobody will get in," said Matt, seriously.

"Matt, we've been able to deal with the Gun Runners, I think we can handle these witch hunters," said Kala.

"This is different. I can't just order my men to fire on a crowd...and if Hawthorn keeps riling them up, a mob will turn up," said Matt, serious, adding, "We can easily move you and your clan to Fort Stavin. It's 5 miles outside the city and alot safer."

"I'm needed here," said Kala, "This community needs as many healers as it can get. We won't just up and move just because someone's pushing us." She wiped off her hands and said to her patient, "Ok, don't lie on your back for a few days and try to avoid any heavy lifting."

Matt watched as the patient thanked Kala and left before saying, "Are you nuts? I've read Hawthorn's file, one of his followers tried to stab me in my office."

"We're not simple country people," said Kala, "We've survived in the ruined streets of Seattle with both the mutants and the Gun Runners. Besides...someone has to make you sure you don't go too far."

"Me? Too far?" said Matt, with a smirk.

"Matt, I can see what this war is doing to you," said Kala, "You're becoming too hardened, colder. I mean with Spyro..."

"That little pain in the ass? He wanted to help, so I sent him to help down south," said Matt, harshly

"You've heard the reports of what goes down there. That's no place to send a teenager," said Kala.

"He's just a..." began Matt only for Kala to finish bitterly "A dragon?"

"Kala, you haven't seen what those creatures have done," said Matt.

"Didn't you used to have the same opinion about the dinosaurs?" questioned Kala.

Matt glared and said, "That's completely different."

"Maybe now it is," said Kala, "But you're letting your anger cloud your judgment. You need to let go of this hatred before you do something you regret."

"Huh...I'm perfectly fine," said Matt, before saying, "Fine, if you stay here, keep a radio close by...and a few lookouts..."

"We know how to keep an eye out for trouble," said Kala.

"Ok...if you're not willing to move, they need staff at the main hospital closer to command. At least go there...it's alot safer," said Matt.

"They need people here too," said Kala, "Some people can't make it to the main hospital."

"They have to try. My men can't protect you this far away and that asshole knows it," said Matt, angrily.

"He might be an asshole, but even he has limits," said Kala, "He needs actual evidence that we've been doing 'witchcraft', and word of mouth doesn't count."

"People like him are able to make 'word of mouth' look like photographic evidence," said Matt darkly.

"I'd like to see him try," said Kala, "Tell you what; we'll keep inside the compound. We'll just stay indoors and keep to ourselves. He won't be able to blame us for anything."

"I hope that's enough, because my men are outnumbered 2 to 1 now the Coalition are here too," said Matt

"You can trust me on this," said Kala.

Matt hesitated before saying, "Fine, but don't take chances." He headed towards the door and said, "Just to be on the safe side, don't do any hocus pocus until that creep leaves town. And if anyone asks, you don't know the Fairgreen at all, you just work here."

Kala stared at that comment as Matt left. She couldn't believe that Matt had said that. Was he ashamed or something? Eventually, she turned back to sorting her medical supplies. "Fine, no magic, but don't expect any social calls," she muttered.

...

With Kala, and by extension the rest of Fairgreen Clan, taken care of, Matt decided to check on the other person who'd most be suspected of 'witchcraft'. The old base handed over to Chris's men was located at an old industrial complex, close to one of Vulture Brigade's makeshift airpads. It was also the current home of Megan.

Matt knocked on the door and waited. Megan wasn't the kind that you should just walk in on. After a bit, he heard her say, "Who is it?"

"It's Lynch," Matt called through the door before adding, "You...decent?" just stopping himself from saying 'Are you human?'

"Just a minute," said Megan's voice. After a little bit, he heard locks clicking and chains rattling. Then the door opened. "Come in," she said, "I'd keep the place in better shape, but I don't expect much company."

Matt walked into the room and looked around, reminded of how his room had looked at Megan's age, i.e. a bombsite. Of course there were some differences. Mainly the dust that thickly coated the areas that Megan didn't use, the cobwebs stretching between almost any two ledges that weren't frequently walked through. Not to mention it was a little dark for his tastes.

Matt looked at all the candles, many recently used. "Hey...the local grid's working. Why not use a normal light?" he said curiously.

Megan was busy locking the door back up. "Too much light would draw attention," she said, "After all, no one's supposed to be living here, remember?"

"So? This place is VB property. There are 5 troopers here at all times. Nobody will come nosing around," said Matt

Megan walked over to a chair and sat down. "I can't take any chances," said Megan, "Especially since that Hawthorn guy's in town."

"I've already given him the riot act. He trespasses, he leaves in a coffin," said Matt.

"He could still do a lot of damage before you get to him," said Megan, "And I know he'd love to get his hands on someone like me."

While Megan was very eager, and still is, to be returned to a fully human form, the existence of Malefor's brainwashing spells and her mutant form's immunity to them made it a necessity for her to postpone her treatment. Along with her self-induced seclusion, Megan had taken to wearing a heavy overcoat with a large hood to cover herself. By withdrawing her back spikes and keeping her tail wrapped around her waist, she could be mistaken for a normal young woman from a distance.

"He won't get close. Look...at least go see Chris. It'll do you good," said Matt.

"He's probably too busy with all the security that's being increased," said Megan.

"That's why I want you to go see him. If he winds up any tighter, he'll snap," said Matt.

Megan gave Matt an amused look, "Look who's calling the kettle black."

"I have Striker to amuse me," said Matt, thinking to that morning...spending an hour waiting for laxatives to take effect after Striker had swallowed the jeep keys.

Megan smirked and said, "The only thing that changes about him is his size."

Matt shared the grin, "I know...made worse that he's worked out his claws are excellent lock picks. Now he keeps breaking into the larder every night."

Megan laughed and said, "You should bring him here more often."

Matt said, "How about you visit us? Shutting yourself away is bad for you...at least I get out every so often."

"I can't just walk around in broad daylight like you," said Megan, "Especially with Hawthorn here. He'll have me burned at the stake as soon as look at me."

"So wear that then," said Matt, pointing to the coat.

"Overcoats aren't exactly the popular fashion right now," said Megan, "A guy like Hawthorn will be looking for any kind of difference to brand."

"There's a storm coming in, it'll be chucking it down tomorrow. Everyone will be in raincoats," said Matt.

"Well, I suppose I could get out then," said Megan, "I'll try to make it over around noon, but I've got some sewing to do."

Mat raised an eyebrow, "You sew?"

"Custom designs don't normally cover multiple limbs," said Megan.

Matt conceded this point. "Just tell the corporal when you leave," he said.

"Just make sure that Striker left something decent for lunch untouched," said Megan.

Matt rolled his eyes at that. "If we're lucky," he muttered.

…

_A dark forest of black pine was rushing past on either side. The red eyes of beasts glared from between the trees. The black pines eventually gave way to dead trees, with skeletons hanging from the branches. Some of the skeletons glared and made swipes. Then the ruins of a great castle loomed up, half-looking like a mausoleum._

_The drawbridge opened on its own, allowing entrance into a near-labyrinth of dark stone corridors. The stench of rotting meat and the cries of tortured victims lingered through the halls, dark weapons hung upon the wall. Suddenly, it stopped at one room that seemed empty. But there was something in there, too solid to be smoke, too round to be a shadow._

_It seemed to have the head and neck of a snake and the wings of a bat. The shade seemed to be questing around the room, looking in the corners and cracks. Suddenly, it turned around and its purple eyes came into view._

...

Megan woke up in her chair with a yelp, before looking around. "Oh...that dream again," she said to herself, taking deep breathes to calm herself down. Megan had been having those nightmares for the last few nights now. But the shade was a new thing. "Why am I having these nightmares?" she asked herself. Megan sighed and said, "Ok, no more sleep tonight. I'm gonna take a shower, long and cold."

…

Meanwhile, in the Romanian quarantine zone, in a castle overlooking a small town, two small demon imps winced as they heard snarls of rage from their master's chambers. "He musta failed to find this new Roph again," said the first imp.

"Doesn't he ever take a night off?" asked the other.

"He's nocturnal, what do you think?" said the first imp sarcastically.

"Too bad we're not," said the second imp, "I'm barely getting any sleep with all that roaring and yelling."

"GET IN HERE, YOU DEMONIC PIPSQUEAKS!" roared their master.

"Yeah...he's upset," winced the first imp.

The two imps hesitatingly walked into the room. "You summoned us, your most terrifyingness?" asked one imp.

The shade glared at them and said, "I was this close to finding the Roph descendent. This close! But then they had to wake up at the last second!"

One of the imps said cautiously, "Maybe you'll get lucky tomorrow night?"

"Fool! The moon will be out of position," snarled the shade, "I'll have to wait a whole week before I can search through the dream plane again."

The other imp said, "It's gotta suck to not just have an agent there," before the other kicked him

The shade seemed to smile, or the closest thing to it. "Yes, an agent. I've been searching these backwater villages for too long. I need to expand my search."

"But, we haven't been to Russia for centuries. We won't know where to start...and it's cold," said one of the imps.

The shade snarled and said, "The Roph descendent may have woken up too soon, but not soon enough. I don't who it is, but I know they are in New Moscow."

"The place where everyone owns a firearm?" said the other imp nervously

The shade gave them disapproving looks. "You don't think I'd be foolish enough to send you two weaklings, do you?"

The imps breathed some smoke out in relief before the shade said, "I'll send all of you...tear that city apart."

The werewolf general had been standing by as his master ranted, but he felt he needed to step in. "Master, I must advise against this," said the werewolf, "The humans will not take an invasion lightly. They could send a whole army here in retaliation. I would recommend a scouting force."

"They cannot destroy me," snorted the shade until his general said, "But they can destroy all that you are using to reconstruct yourself."

The shade paused at that and said, "Yes, I would rather not have to wait another 500 years to have a body again. Very well, we shall send in some spies. But they'll have to be inconspicuous, sly, and adept at hiding."

The imps at that were slipping away pretty well. Unfortunately the creaked as they opened it, causing the shade to go, "YOU...You'll go."

The imps gulped and said, "Yes, master."

…

New Moscow Pest control wasn't easy to take care of 24/7 in a big city, particularly during a war. So no one would have noticed another pair of rats, if one wasn't complaining.

"I can't believe these guises. This is demeaning for imps of our skill," said one of the rats bitterly, causing a watching drunk to stare at his bottle before tossing it away

"Will you keep it down?" hissed the other rat, "Rats aren't supposed to talk, remember?"

"Oh, please, these humans will probably think they're just hearing things," said the first rat.

"We're not here to chitchat anyways," said the other rat, "We need to find that Roph."

"How will we know them when we see them?" asked the first rat.

The second rat said, "Well...I..." at a loss to say anything before a human, walking by, accidentally trod on him, looking around confused for a second at the squeaky toy-like noise and the 'ack' before shrugging and walking off. Fortunately, the two imps were immortal, even in rat form. But no one said immortality was painless. "I...hate...humans," said the flattened rat/imp in a weak voice

"Ok, may I suggest disguises with wings now?" said the other imp.

"And be used for TARGET PRACTISE?" said the first imp, snapping a bit

"Oh, who'd waste ammo on a silly little pigeon?" said the second imp.

The first imp pointed his snout as four men in hunting gear went by, holding enough ammo to put Rambo to shame.

"Uh, maybe something tinier," said the second imp. A roach scuttled by, giving the two rats an evil eye before scuttling into a hole in the wall.

"Do we know that guy?" asked one imp.

"Maybe we owe him money," said the other.

"C'mon. Let's face it. We don't even wanna be here. So let's search somewhere deserted and say we couldn't find this human, then the boss'll send someone else to get stepped on," said the first imp, conspiratorially, adding, "Like that warehouse near the perimeter wall.

"I don't know. Remember the last time we tried to cut corners?" asked the other imp, "I still think my tail didn't heal fully from that."

"Ok...why not try that fenced-off area? It practically reeks of magic," said the first imp, sounding disappointed.

"That'd be a good start," said the other.

"Fine, it's not like it'll be full of magic users," said the first imp.

They didn't notice the man pause at that, looking back at the direction the two had gone, as if he was a dog smelling a scent. "I...sense something," muttered Hawthorn, "The tinge of black magic, yes, definitely evil. Somewhere very close."

Hawthorn's gaze followed the trail all the way up the street to the guarded gate of the Fairgreen compound and his eyes narrowed in anger. "So, Lynch has been harbouring the accursed," he muttered, "Well, divine retribution is soon on its way."

...

Back at the deserted hotel his group had commandeered, Hawthorn was quick to organize a rally. He had heard enough to know that almost all of Matt's troops were stationed to the west and south, guarding the border.

"Lynch is even further down the path of corruption than I thought," said Hawthorn, "Harbouring transgressors against the laws of nature, whose very existence is a mockery against God."

"The people here will not be easily convinced. He and his men made this city safe again and continue to do so," said one of the others thoughtfully.

"Oh, but they are still suspicious of the dragons," said Hawthorn, "He may be willing to protect those who are or were human, but I can tell he distrusts those beasts."

"Many of the dragons there were humans, but I have heard his policy of allowing them to stay has not been popular," said another, smiling coldly.

"A waste of resources and effort," said Hawthorn, "Those poor fools are lost to God. The only sense would be to prevent them from corrupting others."

"The populace obviously agree. I heard comment of how a riot was ended peacefully hardly a few hours before our agent failed," said the one who had mentioned the dragons.

"He may not be friendly with dragons, but I doubt he'll allow us to exterminate them," said a more doubtful follower, "You heard what he said about vigilantes."

"Vigilantes? We are not mere vigilantes," said Hawthorn, "We are missionaries, crusaders doing God's work. Satan's forces may be willing to trespass into the mortal realm, but we shall show them we cannot be overcome so easily."

The doubtful follower proved he also had common sense by saying, "He also has tanks and helicopter gunships...and fighter jets barely 5 minutes away."

The government would not permit the usage of military vehicles in civilian territory unless there was an invasion, and I wouldn't call us an invasion," said Hawthorn.

"But the dragon camps and the witches are on military property, you saw the old signs," said another follower.

"Then we shall draw them out," said Hawthorn.

"How?" said another follower, confused

"We shall let the people express their disfavor," said Hawthorn, "They shall tear down the walls."

"It will not be easy. I doubt the heretic will be as lenient the next time you try to enlighten the masses," said a follower, gravely.

"Which is why I will not be going inside the city until its citizens are ready to seek liberation," said Hawthorn.

"What?" said one of the followers, surprised, "How will they know we speak for you?"

"The word does not have to be spoken, merely known," said Hawthorn.

…

**Three Days later...**

Matt was looking at a few reports from the wall guards, saying that Hawthorn's group had set up shop in an old printing factory. "What are you up to, you little hatemonger?" Matt muttered thoughtfully to himself. He'd had two guards posted outside his office since the attack and so was shocked when the door burst open, the two guards pushing against several people Matt recognized as the civilian council that were the go betweens for the refugee groups.

"Sorry, sir. We couldn't stop them," said one of the guards apologetically.

"A little word ahead of time would have been nice," said Matt.

One of the group, a burly German, stomped past the guards and tossed a leaflet on Matt's desk before saying angrily, "We demand that you remove those things from the safe zone at once."

Matt looked down at the leaflet before up at the man with a subzero glare. There were rumors that some people had vanished after insulting him. While not true, Matt had always encouraged them...if only for fun.

"Those monsters are taking people from the streets," said the man, "Innocent people are disappearing without a trace. We can't live in peace like this."

Matt said in an icy tone of voice, "Anyone you know missing? All of you refugees know each other."

"Yes," said the man, "My neighbor's cousin disappeared one night while going to get some groceries. And we've lost at least three mailmen."

"That'd be Jeremy Harrison..." said Matt, opening a window on his computer screen.

The man said pompously, "That is correct...now..." before Matt said "Arrested 4 days ago for being drunk and disorderly."

"But the mailmen..." started one of the other councilors.

"Have just switched shifts," said Matt, "New Moscow's a big city, takes several mailmen to cover it."

The man seemed about to speak before Matt opened his drawer and pulled out a pistol. The group just stared as Matt began to check it before seeming to notice the group again. "Are you still here?" he said, before picking up the leaflet. "Where did you get this?" he said, tossing it at the man.

"It showed up in my mailbox one day," said the man.

Matt said, "I have a good idea where it came from. Don't believe everything you read. If you bring ACTUAL evidence next time, I might pay attention. Now go away before I finish loading." The refugee leaders left so fast that Matt was sure there was a crack of thunder.

Matt picked up the leaflet and said, "Now, let's see what kind of sludge that nut is spewing." Matt opened the first page...

...

The staff on the bottom floor all stopped as Matt was heard screaming "GET HAWTHORN IN HERE NOW!"

…

Hawthorn was brought in, virtually frog-marched. "There has to have been a more civil way to bring me in here," said Hawthorn.

"Well, I was going to have you dragged here by a cockroach IFV, but they're all needed. Now then, what is this SMEG?" said Matt, cheerfully at first before his gaze darkened until he threw the leaflet at Hawthorn's head, the man just dodging it.

"I see you've received a copy," said Hawthorn.

"No...I got this from one of the community leaders. Turns out they all got one. Strange that...isn't it?" said Matt, mock cheerful again.

"Well, we've been trying to get them as spread-out as we can," said Hawthorn.

"Let's read out some of this," said Matt, smiling without an ounce of mirth before reading out a quote, "Dragons are well known for their ability to enslave minds?"

"You know that's true," said Hawthorn, "How else could Malefor had taken over so quickly?"

"That's crap. We've already confirmed that it's done by subliminal messaging," said Matt, before turning a page, "Dragons feast solely on human flesh? You're getting confused with zombies."

"You know dragons aren't herbivores," said Hawthorn.

"They definitely don't eat humans. The guards would have noticed," said Matt, before looking at the next page, "Dragons have an instinct to burn anything that's green? What, do you ask a magic 8-ball if you should add these so-called facts or something?"

Hawthorn's eyes narrowed at the last comment, especially when the guards behind him chuckled. "You may laugh..." he began before Matt said "Ok...I will," before laughing.

Hawthorn glared and said, "The forces of darkness are nothing to be made light of."

"Yeah...his name's Malefor and he's 1600 miles that way," said Matt, pointing west. "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out," before he said as Hawthorn turned to leave, "Oh...Hawthorn?"

"Yes?" asked Hawthorn.

"You have 48 hours to get your butt out of VB territory. I had an interesting communice from the Far Eastern Federation...first in years. Their security force wants to discuss some kinda riot charge with you. If you are not out in 2 days, or if I get one more report about you, I'll giftwrap you and post you to Beijing myself," said Matt, smiling evilly and adding, "Have a nice day."

Hawthorn frowned and said, "Your ill-conceived mercy towards those beasts shall be your undoing."

"And your mob baiting will be yours...good day." said Matt, before turning to look at his paperwork before looking back up. "Something you want to add?" he said icily

"You'd be wise to evict those monsters before it's too late," said Hawthorn.

Matt actually looked up at that with a look of mock surprise on his face. "I must have not heard that properly...because that sounded like a threat to me," he said, his voice lowering to as close a snarl as a human could get.

"Not a threat, advice," said Hawthorn, "Those creatures will bring nothing but trouble and misfortune for you."

Matt glared before saying "Someone get this...trash out of my sight. I don't care what you do with him."

As soon as Hawthorn was out, Matt looked at the leaflet and said, "The only thing I'd use this for is to line my birdcage." Then he paused and said, "Wait, I don't have a bird. Maybe I should get one just to put this scrap to use."

Outside, Hawthorn was roughly pushed down the last step by the trooper on duty and into the sight of his fellows. "I sense your talk with the commander did not go well," said one.

"Lynch was too stubborn to listen to my advice," said Hawthorn, "No matter; our cleansing shall go on with or without his approval."

"It will not be easy. Remember, he commands a great amount of loyalty in his men," said a third, adding thoughtfully, "We will need leverage..."

"That may be difficult," said Hawthorn, "Lynch seems to be an individualist. There is not likely anyone that he would be very close to."

"My informants have seen him with what looks like a child," said the same guy who had suggested leverage.

"You mean the one who looks like Kenny from that old show, South Park?" asked one.

The 'leverage' guy nodded. "Yes, the one that's wearing a coat 10 sizes too big. If we take him, the commander will have no choice but to do what we say. Although we will have to make sure he doesn't follow us later," he said.

"Perhaps, but a child should not be exposed to such duplicity," said Hawthorn, "There shall be no treachery involved and it must remain unharmed."

"Of course," said the group in unison before another of their group ran up.

"Hawthorn...something is happening at the witches' camp. I think the guards are changing," he said out of breath.

"Well, you can't expect them to remain at their posts 24 hours a day," said Hawthorn.

"I've watched them before...it will be 15 minutes before the next shift. We can get proof," said the runner.

"Excellent," said Hawthorn, "We must seize this opportunity while we can."

…

Meanwhile, Striker, the raptor Matt had adopted a year ago was getting his checkup. Being cold blooded meant that he was at serious risk from the arctic winters that Russia experienced. It also meant that only one person was qualified to check him and that was Kala.

"Ok, Striker, say 'ah'. And for the last time, don't chomp down this time," said Kala.

Striker opened his mouth, revealing his rows of teeth. Kala slowly put a lolly stick on his tongue to get a good look and jumped as Striker DID chomp down, biting the stick in two and giving what could only be called a snigger.

Kala held up one half of the tongue depressor and said, "I lose more of these things this way." Striker chewed up the remnants then spat out the mush the wood had been reduced to. Kala looked sternly at the raptor before sighing, "Well, you're definitely not ill. Time to wrap up again."

Striker glared. "No like," he said, jumping away when Kala tried to put the faux fur coat on him.

"Do you want to catch hypothermia?" said Kala as she tried to get the coat on Striker.

"No. Brother say I already hyper," said Striker, backing away.

"Well, there's some truth to that," said Kala before trying to tackle Striker.

Striker chirped and easily jumped over Kala's tackle onto the top of a cupboard where he stuck his tongue out smugly. "Striker, get down now," said Kala. Striker shook his head before his year's growth got the better of him and the cupboard overbalanced. Luckily for the young raptor, Kala caught him. "That's why you had to get down," she said with a smirk.

"And while I have you here," said Kala before throwing the coat over Striker. Striker let out a few annoyed snarls but gave up as he realized he wasn't gonna win this one. Kala pulled the hood over Striker's head, completely obscuring his snout and face. "You look adorable," she teased.

Striker growled and said, "Itchy."

Kala grinned and finished zipping the coat up when someone knocked at the room's door. "Just a minute," said Kala before walking over to the door.

Kala reached for the door and was knocked backwards as the door was literally kicked open and two hooded people pushed their way in, holding Remington shotguns. "Nobody moves, no one gets hurt," said one of the hooded men.

Hawthorn walked in behind the two and looked at Kala with barely concealed disgust before he looked at Striker. "You must be the child that Commander Lynch values," he said in a kindly voice before looking confused when the 'kid' hissed at him, crouching down.

"Huh, weird kid," said one of the men.

"He's Lynch's, not really surprising," said the other.

Hawthorn glared at the two and said, "Bound and gag the witch..." before turning to Striker, "Come with me, child, you won't be harmed."

Striker said, "Me not dumb, monkey."

"Could have fooled me," said one of the men.

Kala smirked slightly and said, "Careful, you mess with him and he'll bite off more than he can chew."

Hawthorn sighed and grabbed Striker...or tried too as the raptor in disguise leapt over the fanatic's head. "Get him!" snapped Hawthorn.

The two goons both tried to grab Striker, failing miserably as he easily outmaneuvered them. Hawthorn, however managed to grab him as he leapt for the third time, holding him down. "Stay still you little brat," he said before pulling the hood down. Hawthorn was rather surprised when instead of a child's face, he finds a raptor's. Striker just grinned before spitting in Hawthorn's eye. "Ah! Deadly acid!" cried Hawthorn as he grabbed his face.

Striker tried to take advantage of the distraction to run for it but the goons were ready this time, one grabbing him while the other hit him with his shotgun stock. Hawthorn wiped the spittle off and said frantically, "The commander has gone too far...sheltering a demon as a…" and stopped, apparently unable to finish the sentence.

"Let Striker go," said Kala, "You're asking for a lot of trouble."

"No...this...abomination and you will prove once and for all to the people of this city that their leader must be removed...and will reveal the monsters in their midst," said Hawthorn, a mad fire in his eyes

"I'm giving you to the count of three to let Striker go and get out," said Kala, a different kind of fire in her eyes.

"Gag this thing," said Hawthorn cruelly, one of the goons putting a rag around Kala's mouth. Kala's eyes flashed before a fireball formed in her hand. She threw it behind her and nailed the goon. The second goon didn't waste time, clocking her across the back of the head for an instant knockout. "Bring them..." said Hawthorn.

…

Sometime later, Matt was looking over the 'crime scene' and looking positively livid. In front of him, one of the guys who had come with Hawthorn into the city was being tended too by medics and watched by 4 VB 'wolf' troopers. "His feet won't touch the ground..." Matt said furiously, referring to Hawthorn.

"Sir, I know this has gotten personal, but there's a matter of process by trial," said one of the trooper.

"Screw that! As far as I'm concerned, that little shit just declared open war! I want him shot on sight!" shouted Matt.

"Sir, we can't just lynch him, er, no pun intended," said the trooper.

"I'm not gonna lynch him. I'm gonna shoot him if he's even bruised Kala or Striker," said Matt, calming down a bit

"Are you sure that-" started the trooper.

Matt stopped him with a glare, "He made an unprovoked attack at this facility and kidnapped two individuals who have no criminal records at all. His ass is mine."

Matt pulled out his radio and said, "Anderson, I want some of your Blackfoot gunships in the air. Bring me Hawthorn on a plate or in a body bag."

Just then, the goon ranted, "There is no escape. Hawthorn will bring you to justice for betraying humanity."

"Him and what army?" said Matt.

The goon laughed bitterly and said, "The downtrodden of this city will throw you out themselves once they learn the truth."

"The truth about what?" asked Matt.

"Your alliance with the unholy demons...your sheltering of witches," said the goon, spitting at Matt's feet.

Matt paused and said, "Ok, I'm not even sure if that stupid remark is even worth a rebuttal."

"We saw your little beast," said the goon, cruelly before sneering, "It will be dealt with like the wi..." He didn't finish as Matt clocked him on the jaw.

"They're still clinging to that old dino-demon thing?" asked one trooper, "These guys are even more backwards than I thought."

Matt however said, "Not everyone knows about Striker...as much as I hate to say it, Hawthorn could use this."

"C'mon, like anyone in their right mind would believe Striker's a demon," said the trooper, "A little impish, maybe, but not a demon."

"Hawthorn is a creep, but he knows how to play a crowd. If he throws in Kala's clans little...secret, we'll have a full blown riot," said Matt.

"A preemptive strike then?" asked another trooper.

"No...standard hostage taking. If you're attacked, ice the hostages, all we can do is wait," said Matt, gloomily.

"There has to be something we can do," said the trooper.

"Call in the reserves from Fort Andrea. If this goes bad, we'll need every man we can get." said Matt, before sitting on a chair and saying, "All we can do...is wait."

…

Meanwhile, the shade was listening with some patience as his imps were wrapping up their report.

"We'd need twice as many minions as we have to get into that city...not to mention the other defenses," said one of the imps.

"Will you leave off their defenses and tell me where the descendent is?" snapped the shade. The imps had kept whining about how difficult the job was.

"There's dozens of magic users there. There was a whole camp of them," said the other imp, adding, "No way to tell who was the Heir and who wasn't...white magic...bleh."

The shade looked thoughtful and said, "Well, this camp needs proper investigating. And certainly more muscle than you two have put together."

"As long as we don't have to go back there...number of times we got shot, stepped on and almost eaten..." muttered the first imp.

"But my troops shall need guides," said the shade, "And you know the area the best out of anyone here."

"What? We have to go back there?" whimpered the first imp

"Of course, how else will my minions be able to find the right place to search?" said the shade.

"But...but..." said the imps before sighing and one of them saying gloomily, "Yes, sir."

"Good, now get ready. It'll be dark over there and we mustn't draw too much attention," said the shade.

One of the imps said curiously "Which suck...I mean who are you sending?"

"Oh, I've sent for Zamiel and his hunters," said the shade.

"Those guys? They're about as subtle as that guy from japan...Gojira I think his name was..." said the second imp in shock.

The first imp nodded, "Yeah...the guy who got all those movie deals."

"They happen to be among the best trackers that I can summon," said the shade, "Are you suggesting I'm not capable of acquiring competent minions?"

"No. Those guys are good trackers...but they're crap at stealth..." said the first imp

"Then it's a good thing you two scouts will be there," growled the shade.

The two imps paled and slowly walked backwards out of the room, bowing the whole way before, when they were out of sight, the first imp said, "Zamiel...that guy's a psycho...even by demon standards."

"But at least he'll be on the front lines," said the second demon before it stopped and started gaping.

The first imp didn't pick up on his companion's terrified look, "Yeah...but we might as well hang up a sign pointing to the boss. That Zamiel's a trigger happy moron...what's your problem?"

The second imp nervously pointed over the other's shoulder.

The imp looked confused "What the heavens your problem? You're acting like Zamiel's behind me," he said. The second imp squeaked something, causing the other to turn around.

The two imps looked at a humanoid figure wearing medieval hunter's garbs. However, the skin that could be seen was covered in black fur, the legs were bent backwards like a beast's, a spaded tail flicked behind it, and its head wore a stag's skull over its face. But seeing how close the flesh was grafted, it was hard to tell if it was a mask.

"Oh, erm...Zamiel, baby. You're looking...well," said the first imp, its voice petering out under the demon's glare.

"I have business with the master, so you two get moving," growled Zamiel. The two imps hesitated before red flares appeared in the eye sockets. "NOW!" The two imps screamed, turned into chickens, and ran. Zamiel walked into the shade's room. "You summoned me?" he said in the same growl.

...

Hawthorn however was looking at the prisoners. Striker had been chained to a wall by a collar and was none too happy while Kala was tied up. "Ok, prisoner or not, this is too undignifying," said Kala.

"Silence, witch," spat Hawthorn angrily, before calming down, "Soon you and you...filthy kind will find no shelter here."

"I'm not really a witch," said Kala, "Well, in the classical sense, anyways. I'm closer to a wiccan."

"I don't care. You and you demon familiar will be dealt with...after you help me prove to this city that their leader must be removed," said Hawthorn, with disgust.

"Uh, what demon familiar?" asked Kala.

Hawthorn grabbed her hair and forced her to stare at Striker who was cowering in the corner. "Don't try to trick me. All these demons should have been destroyed the minute they appeared, not worked with like the fools in the Coalition!" he yelled.

Kala yelped as her head was forced around. "Watch the hair," she said before looking at Striker. "Really, you think he's a demon?" she asked, "Are you that superstitious?"

"I saw what they did to humans they met. No mortal creature shows such...brutality," snarled Hawthorn. Kala paled as she saw Hawthorn's eyes...they showed pure, mad hatred.

"Look, I think you need to calm down and carefully think out your actions," said Kala, "You might be jumping to the wrong conclusions."

"I've seen enough. I can sense your...dark energies and I saw you conjure hellfire," spat Hawthorn

"That was regular fire," said Kala.

"SILENCE...tonight, you will be brought on stage during my rally...and then you and the demon will be executed," said Hawthorn, suddenly calm.

"Uh, that wouldn't happen to be the old burn at the stake execution, would it?" asked Kala.

"No...we'll simply let the citizens of this city deal with you," said Hawthorn with dark glee

"Uh, don't we have the right to a trial?" asked Kala, "You know, judge, jury, bailiff?"

"I am the judge," said Hawthorn, "The people shall be the jury. But we won't need a bailiff."

Striker hissed and said nastily, "Brother not need any if he catch you...pack decide fate better."

"When the people see the truth that has been withheld from them, they shall decide his fate better," said Hawthorn.

Striker hissed darkly, "Pack strong...you die."

"But the will of God is stronger," said Hawthorn. Just then, there was a loud thunderclap and a bolt of lightning lit up the sky. "You see? He sends His almighty wrath at the demon infestation," said Hawthorn.

"It's a storm, you idiot," said Kala, scathingly.

"Either way, your time on this plane is quickly drawing to a close," said Hawthorn.

Kala and Striker looked down sadly at that.

...

Little did they know that Hawthorn was partially right. A few minutes earlier, a portal had opened up in a small clearing in the deeper part of the woods. Through it hopped out the two imps. "Man...back in the freezer. Zamiel doesn't need our help. We should go back to Greece. At least we didn't have to put up with this," said the first imp.

"Yeah, we could some nice temperate weather," said the other.

"Get out of the way," hissed a dark voice, "You're holding up the line."

The two imps dodged to the side as some of Zamiel's 'associates' came out of the portal. The two imps looked at each other before muttering, "Amateurs." Suddenly, a small pair of arrows was sent straight at their posteriors.

"What the heaven?" yelped one of the imps, after they'd landed and pulled the arrows out.

"I hate that guy," said the second darkly.

"Keep it moving," said Zamiel, "We don't have all night." The two imps walked on, muttering.

The demon huntsmen filed out of the portal. The 7th one was literally halfway through when suddenly a bolt of lightning flashed and struck the portal. The huntsman looked confused before several metallic somethings grabbed it and pulled it back and a much smaller thing shot out and landed in the snow.

The demons looked at the spot where the portal was in confusion. "What the heaven just happened?" asked one.

"The lightning messed up the portal," said Zamiel, "It closed it up prematurely. Who knows where Ificus ended up?"

"Too bad, he owed me 4 gold pieces," said another demon.

Another, who had seen the things grabbing their comrade, said in a fearful voice "You don't think it was...them...do you?"

"For his sake, I hope not," said another.

Zamiel said, annoyed, "Shut up, the lot of you. The dramin are just legends. Let's just find what we were told to and get out of this frozen hole."

He glared at the imps, one of which said "Oh, that's our job...erm...this way..." adding under his breath "...fatso's."

Zamiel growled and said, "You know, I have a spot on my trophy wall that your heads would fill in quite nicely."

"Look, things have changed since your last job here. Humans have weapons that can hurt us now," said the second imp in as reasonable a voice as he could manage, "Your usual 'kill everyone who sees you' plan won't get you far."

"Then be quick about showing us where we are supposed to hunt," growled Zamiel.

The imps pointed to the perimeter wall of New Moscow. "They're in there somewhere but I'd be..." began the first imp before a huntsdemon ran forward...and vanished in the fireball of an antitank mine.

The demons watched the physical remains of their brethren burn before Zamiel said in a less harsh tone, "Show us the way."

The imps had also not expected the mine and were staring in horror. "Mummy," whimpered the first one. The second one had wandered over to a sign and revealed the sign that said, 'New Moscow...Minefield 3...if you can read this sign, you're either lost or stupid.'

"Perhaps we should keep to the air," suggested one huntsdemon.

Zamiel said, "After you." The demon that had suggested flying spread his wings, took off and was blown apart by one of the NM security walls SAM turrets. The imps backed up from Zamiel's glare "How did you get in?" he growled.

The first imp said, "In disguise..."

"You mean we'll have to take on the appearance of these weak flesh beings?" asked one demon in disgust.

"If you'd rather want to have your physical form destroyed and sent back to the Abyss, then go ahead," said Zamiel.

...

**A little later…**

The guards on east wall rarely saw activity given that travelers from the Far East Federation were practically non-existent. As a result they watched with interest as the group of travelers walked unsteadily up the road, as if un-used to it.

They heard some odd mutterings from some of them. "How do they deal with all these toes?" "Ugh, I smell ridiculous. What is this secretion from me?" "I think it is referred to as 'sweat'."

The guards looked at each other before waving to the tank crews to get ready. "Hey...hold up there," one of the guards called.

The group paused before one of them in a hunting hat said, "Is there a problem?"

"We need to see your entry visas. Since that wacko Hawthorn showed up, the commander's been in a killing mood," said the guard, conversationally

"He's not the only one," said the guy in the hunting hat.

"Look...just show the damn visas or piss off," said the other guard, obviously in a bad mood.

The strangers seemed to tense, some of them were actually growling. But that stopped when the guards took aim at them. "You can leave peacefully or in bits...your choice," said the first guard, having aimed his assault rifle.

The leader in the hunting hat said, "What? You expect us to give into these...fine..." agreeing reluctantly as one of the middle guys muttered something urgently, pointing at the tank.

The group walked forward, each with official-looking papers in their hands. The guards looked at the gothic handwriting before looking at each other. "This signature looks like it was done in the Middle Ages. How old is this stuff?" one of them said to the two that had handed them out.

"Uh, we got them a few years ago," said one of them, "They haven't expired, have they?"

"A few years ago?" said the other guard in shock before saying, "It seems in order..." before handing a booklet. "These are the laws and regulations in VB territory...and we have to take your weapons."

"Oh, it's nothing to be concerned about," said the guy in the hunting cap, "Just some hunting equipment."

"No weapons, hand em over or visas or not, you're staying out here...with the locals," said the guard, he and his fellow smirking as a noise not associated with any known animal was heard in the snowstorm.

The guy grunted and said, "Fine," before handing over a bow and quiver full of arrows.

The guards watched as what looked like a whole sword shop was handed over. "What the fuck were you lot hunting?" said the first guard in awe.

There was a pause before one of them said, "Wild boar."

"Yeah, right...and I'm Malefor. You get these back when you leave, not before, and security will be watching," said the second guard.

The guy in the hunting cap grinned slightly and said, "Let them watch."

"You start trouble...and if you're lucky, you'll be thrown out with a pulse," said the second guard, before waving for the security gate to open.

One of the hunters snickered and muttered, "Like we have a pulse."

…

Matt, however, was not having a good day. Striker was as close to family as he had left and now some lunatic had him as well as Kala. He looked up at Techo, Wilson, Talia and Chris. "Have you found anything that'll tell you where that idiot is?" he said in a drained voice.

"Not much," said Talia, "As far as we can tell, he's staying outside the city.

"If you see him...kill him. I want him DEAD!" said Matt, shouting the last word and bringing a fist down on the desk.

Just then, the phone started ringing. The group looked at it before Wilson said to Matt, "I think it's for you."

Matt made a 'shh' motion before turning the call onto speaker. "Vulture Brigade Command," he said cautiously.

"Hello, Lynch," said a familiar voice on the other end.

"Hawthorn. I understand you have two friends of mine as guests," said Matt, glaring at the phone.

"Yes, I have your wench and her familiar," said Hawthorn.

"Play nice," said Matt, calmly while motioning for Techo to run a trace, "I presume this isn't a social call."

"Well, we both know it's too late to save your soul," said Hawthorn, "Obviously, this temptress has seduced it out of you."

"She's a US civilian, nothing else," said Matt, his tone darkening.

"Don't try to fool me, I saw her produce hellfire from her hands," said Hawthorn.

Kala's voice in the background was heard shouting, "It was only regular fire!"

"That's regular fire. Seattle was ground zero for a rift storm in the black months. It's just a third energy mutation, you nutcase," said Matt, starting to get annoyed.

"Third energy, another term for black magic," said Hawthorn.

Matt slapped his forehead and said, "For crying out loud, is everything that's unusual unholy to you?"

"And how do you explain the demon?" said Hawthorn, shifting the subject.

It took Matt a minute to realize he meant Striker. "What? I know he steals people lunches but that's hardly demon behavior. Is there a gas leak where you are?" he said rudely.

"Do not be a fool," said Hawthorn, "He is as deadly as great a threat to mankind as those winged beasts."

"Uh-huh, and keep an eye on his tail too, it's been known to sneak off and smack dogs in the middle of the night," said Matt sarcastically.

Hawthorn yelled, "DON'T TAUNT ME!" and Matt almost burst out laughing.

"Ok...did you just call to tell the guy with an army that he's an idiot or to actually say something?" Matt said.

"I might be persuaded be merciful with them, though they do not deserve it. In exchange, you must banish yourself and take your unholy trash with you," said Hawthorn.

"And what would you do afterwards?" said Matt in a taunting voice, looking up at Techo who made a motion to say '30 seconds'.

"Simple, I will teach the people of this city what is good and evil and lead them on a crusade to destroy the minions of darkness," said Hawthorn.

"Hmm...have you SEEN Malefor?" said Matt, "He's bigger than a navy cruiser and twice as nasty. In fact, do go and try to 'vanquish' him. Vanquish? You didn't drop through a rift, did you? This is the 21st century, not the 2nd."

Chris frowned and said, "He wasn't that big."

Matt covered the speaker end of the phone and said, "I know, but I'm trying to make a point."

Hawthorn said scathingly, "You don't fool me. I have the courage you lack."

Matt looked over at where Techo gave a thumbs up. "Hawthorn?" he said.

"Yes?" asked Hawthorn.

"Kiss my ass," said Matt before hanging up, "Chris, you have the privilege of pounding Hawthorn and his cronies into the bedrock. I'm coming too. Nobody threatens Striker except me."

…

The huntsdemons had been searching around the area and where quickly growing frustrated. "I thought you said you knew where the descendent would be," growled Zamiel.

"No, we said we knew where they might be," said one imp.

"Then start being exact," said Zamiel with a snarl that got some stares from people passing

"Well, we did pick up a big spike of possible magic over that way," said the second imp pointing.

"But they could have moved by then," said the next imp.

Zamiel growled and was about to swat the imps across the street when he stopped, sensing a source of white magic. "There is a mage here," he growled, "Underdeveloped, but close."

The imps let out a collective breath of relief. "We told ya," said the first imp.

"Silence," growled Zamiel, "We don't need you two anymore."

"We can go?" said the second imp, hopefully.

Zamiel notched an arrow to his bow and said, "If you aren't gone in three seconds, you won't be able to go anywhere." The imps stared white eyed before running off so fast it seemed like they had teleported away. Zamiel smirked and said, "Much better."

Zamiel and his group walked towards the magic signature and started to see more people walking in the same direction. "I don't like this, Zamiel...too many humans going the same direction to be coincidental," said another demon, the only demon that Zamiel considered close enough to be a 'friend'.

"True, the question is, are they predators on the hunt or scavengers looking to pick from another's kill," said Zamiel.

"No, sense the air, I smell a sensitive," said the demon.

Zamiel sniffed the air and said, "Yes, not a true magic user, but quite skilled in finding magic. And that's not all. I smell...bloodlust."

"Hmm...maybe these humans aren't so backward?" said the first demon with a smirk

"Well, if nothing else, we'll at least have a bit of entertainment," said Zamiel. The demons all smirked before following, starting to hear a voice raised in rant.

"Zamiel, what if we can't pick out the heir amongst the crowd?" asked one demon.

"We'll improvise," said Zamiel, setting an arrow to his bow.

The demon that had first spoken said, "We should be cautious hunters, the world has changed..."

However, the scenario was starting remind Zamiel of a few things from a couple centuries ago. "The more things change, the more they stay the same," he said.

"That does not mean technology has changed. You saw what this...'mone field' did to Arcus," said the first demon

"But it would seem their minds have not developed beyond their ability to suppress irrational fear," said Zamiel.

The demons walked into sight of a stage where a group was watching a human rant something about purity. "Citizens of New Moscow! The time has come for you to take justice into your own hands!" shouted Hawthorn, "Now it is time to punish those that your so-called leaders would overlook because of lack of belief."

The group muttered to themselves as Hawthorn continued, "You leader may have protected you during the black months but now he is falling into corruption. He has let monsters live among you. These abominable reptiles have been allowed to exist for too long. But we shall wipe out this pestilence to our lands once and for all."

"He's got guns, tanks, and helicopter gunships! We've got maybe 30 hunting rifles!" yelled a civilian.

"Quantity can overrun quality," said Hawthorn, "We shall prevail, because we are on the righteous path."

"And those tanks'll crush us. It's all very well wanting a damn riot, but I'd like to see you punch out a T-100!" yelled another civilian.

"The threat of our sanctity far outweighs our personal safety!" shouted Hawthorn, "Would you rather your soul be at risk while your body remains unharmed?"

"I'd prefer not to be full of 30mm gunship rounds!" yelled a third civilian, a general murmuring of agreement, following.

"But do you not realize that your leader has been corrupted by one of the most despicable minions of the dark forces?" asked Hawthorn.

"Pull the other one!" yelled a watcher, getting laughs.

Zamiel's righthand demon turned to Zamiel and said, "They don't do witchhunts like they used to."

"Still, we should warn the master about this man when we return. Nobody likes someone who's nosy," said a third demon.

"Wait," said Zamiel, "I think this man may be our sensitive."

"That blowhard?" said Zamiel's righthand demon with a smirk.

"Completely unprofessional, but he does have a genuine talent," said Zamiel.

"Well...I vote we destroy him," said the youngest demon.

"Fool," hissed Zamiel, "This man could be of use to us."

"You're joking, right? Zamiel, that man would probably rather die than help us," said Zamiel's righthand demon.

"That would probably be preferable," said Zamiel, "With a proper spell, his bones will point us towards what we seek."

"His followers would need a figurehead...and a riot would give us the distraction we need to find the Heir," said Zamiel's righthand demon before smirking and saying, "Just like old times."

"Yes, we just need to wait until his show fizzles out," said Zamiel, "Then we'll have a little backstage meeting."

Hawthorn was starting to get annoyed. "I am trying to save you from eternal doom, you fools!" he yelled.

"We've got plenty of eternal doom to worry about already!" shouted back one of the jeerers.

"The Vulture Brigade is going to play you all for fools and let the demons in and you just want to sit around and wait for that?" snapped Hawthorn.

A small group looked angry at that. "Hey, don't you talk about the commander that way," said one, clearly furious. Hawthorn noted with worry that he was wearing several tags sewn on...the equivalent for medals in the current day and age.

"Your so-called commander has been seduced by a fiendish witch who had the gall of trying to pass herself off as a healer," said Hawthorn, trying to gain back control.

A few of Chris's men were also in the crowd, on downtime, having not heard about the kidnappings yet and looked up at that.

"This wicked wench has probably poisoned dozens of innocent citizens with her vile potions. She has used her devilish charms to enthrall Lynch so that she may rise to power," said Hawthorn.

One of the off duty troopers said, "Who's this poisoner then, man?" reaching under his coat to his barretta.

"The name she has been calling herself to mortals is Kala, but no doubt that is really a cover name," said Hawthorn.

The troopers were about to reach for their guns when a civilian yelled, "Hey, she cured my kid's pneumonia, you asshole!"

"That is only a cover," said Hawthorn, "No doubt she is mixing in spells in her so-called cures to infect people with her dark-"

Suddenly, a snowball flew out of the crowd and knocked off his hat. "Get off the stage, you fraud!" shouted a voice.

"Fuck that. Let's take this git apart!" yelled another to a roar of approval before Hawthorn's guards had to hold back what was basically an angry mob...aimed at the wrong person.

Zamiel's second hand demon said, "Yep, don't do witch hunts like they used to."

"Ok, the floor show's over, now do we take him?" asked another demon.

Zamiel nodded. "Yes...let's put this amateur out of his misery," he said with relish.

...

Hawthorn slammed into the room in his hideout, Kala and Striker dragged in. "You...you two did this...bewitched the crowd," he snarled at them as the guards left.

"Today's average crowd isn't as gullible as you think," said Kala.

"Then maybe I should just kill you now?" said Hawthorn, his temper flaring as he pulled out a dagger before there was two thumps outside before someone knocking. "I am busy!" snarled Hawthorn.

The knock came again, this time harder. "I have a pair of unholy beings to destroy!" snapped Hawthorn.

Hawthorn stomped over to the door and was about to open it when a blade shot through the door...and his thigh. Hawthorn cried out in pain as he fell over, clutching his bleeding leg.

The door flew off its hinges and a man in a hunting cap strode in, a glowing sword in his hand. "Unholy beings, you say?" said the man, "Mind if I have a look first?"

Hawthorn was staring in terror at the figure before seeing what was left of the two guards. "My...god...what are you?" he said in terror.

"Me? I'm what you've been trying to hunt," said the man, "And might I add, I'm a lot better at hunting than you are."

Hawthorn got the glare in his eyes back. "You...YOU...HOW DARE YOU SULLY THIS PLACE TO..." he began.

Just then, the sword went through Hawthorn's chest, cutting him off. "And I'm a lot quieter than you too," said the man.

A flare of fire shot down the sword and practically vaporized Hawthorn before flowing back over his killer. The fire faded, leaving the killer in the exact image of Hawthorn, the real Hawthorn was left as only a skeleton.

"Much better...now then, let's see what our former 'friend' caught?" said the new 'Hawthorn' peering at Striker first. "Hmph...a small time demon," before cocking an eyebrow as Striker said, "Not a demon."

The false Hawthorn sniffed him and said, "You're right, slight trace of magic, but basically an overgrown lizard. Nothing worth worrying about."

Striker stuck his tongue out before the doppelganger peered closely at Kala and sniffing her. "This one however..." he said with a cold smirk. Kala shrank back from him. It was bad enough to be in the same room as a supernatural killer, but being tied up and vulnerable like this was prime nightmare fuel. "Hmm...you're not the Heir. But from your scent, you know where she is," said the doppelganger, the smile widening

Just then, there was the sound of angry voices outside with stomping feet. The false-Hawthorn frowned and said, "It looks like I've run out of time."

A guard burst in. "Sir...it's Vulture Brigade. They must have traced us. We have to get you out," he said panicky.

"Fine," said the faux-Hawthorn, picking up the sack containing the real Hawthorn's bones, "But first I need to take care of this witch."

"There's no time, sir. If you're caught, your cause dies too," said the guard desperately, the sound of explosions and gunfire heard in the background.

'Hawthorn' nodded and said, "You're right, we must go."

Kala and Striker watched as they turned to go, Hawthorn turning and winking sinisterly at her before leaving. A minute later, two troopers in the Enclave armour that Chris's men preferred burst in.

…

Sometime later, Zamiel activated a scrying spell to make contact with his employer. He removed the facial part of his disguise so he would be recognizable.

The others, who had gotten their own disguises when they had been able to, crowded in when the spell just showed static.

"Maybe we have bad reception in this area," suggested one demon.

"Fools...this spell is not some mortal 'radio'," snarled Zamiel.

"Sure is acting like one right now," said one demon.

"Shut up," hissed Zamiel, his eyes glowing red before the spell took and their master's alpha werewolf appeared.

"Zamiel...this is not a good time," said the werewolf angrily.

"I have a report on our hunt," said Zamiel.

"Good...the master could use some good news. Some jumped up dragon just tore the castle apart," said the commander.

"A dragon?" asked Zamiels right hand demon "I thought they were all working for Lord Whathisface."

"Not this one. It was with some of those rebels, tore the place apart to get some of them out," said the commander.

"Looks like we missed out on a lot of action," said one demon.

"Look...if you come back empty handed, the master will rip you all new ones before banishing you. Stay where you are and find that Heir," said the commander.

"But we've secured something that will make the search much easier," said Zamiel, "The bones of a sensitive."

"Good, just finish your job. One more thing...don't call me," said the commander.

With that, the scrying spell disconnected. "Great, another night out here in the cold," griped one demon.

Zamiel calmly pulled out a crossbow and fired into the demon's arm. "Remember your place. We are here to do the master's bidding," he said coldly.

"We won't have to walk through that 'customs' place again, do we?" asked another demon.

"No...I think we will be staying here for a while," said Zamiel darkly.

...

The next day, Kala and Striker were checked out of the hospital. Aside from some rope burn and some minor cuts, Kala wasn't really hurt. Striker had barely suffered, but the hospital's food storage had.

Matt was checking up on Kala. He knew that Striker was fine given that he'd broken into cafeteria storage 5 times already. "Docs said you were talking about demons when you were that git's guest," he said, sitting by her bed.

"I'm pretty sure I saw something," said Kala, "I know that guy, thing, whatever it was, just came in, burned Hawthorn down to the bone and stole his form or something."

"You've been through a bad experience. You probably imagined it. The team said you were out cold when they got there," said Matt, kindly.

"I hope I did," said Kala, "I've got enough to worry about without having to worry if demons are real."

"Look, I got teams sweeping the entire city and the ruins outside the wall. When we find this guy he's dead," said Matt, darkly.

"I suppose you want me to hide until he's gone then," said Kala.

"No, but I want you to move into the high security district, you and the rest of your clan," said Matt, a serious tone entering his voice.

"Matt, it's not that simple," said Kala, "We've had to leave our homes behind before. We're not eager on doing it again. Plus, there are others in there that need our help."

"I'm not going to have that monster take you again," said Matt, angrily.

"Or do you not want me exposed again?" asked Kala.

Matt looked at Kala in shock. "What?" he said in a small voice.

"Maybe you just want me out of the way so I won't compromise your image," said Kala.

"If I cared about my image, those lizards wouldn't be allowed in," said Matt, his temper rising.

"Matt, those dragons may not be the monsters Hawthorn says they are, but they don't deserve the treatment they're getting," said Kala.

"They get perfectly adequate treatment. You know how many requests I've had to export them out the safe zone?" said Mat, angrily.

"Then how comes you're letting smaller ones out into the battlefield?" demanded Kala.

"He wanted to help...and he is apparently perfectly capable. I had a report emailed to me today saying he rescued a recon team," said Matt, trying to be reasonable.

"He did?" asked Kala.

"So I hear..." said Matt, sounding annoyed despite the apparent good news.

"What exactly did he rescue them from?" asked Kala.

"From the castle filled with...hold on, you'll grin at this...werewolves," said Matt before laughing.

Kala didn't grin however. "As in the half man/half wolf werewolves?" she asked.

"Apparently..." said Matt with a smirk before he realized some of the footage from the 'Hell's Half-Mile' security wall. Anywhere that had zombies could easily have other monsters.

"Matt, I think there may be something big going on over there," said Kala.

"Until something happens to force me to go down there, I cannot spare the men. We have enough with Malefor and the other flying flamethrowers," said Matt.

Kala, however, was reading over the report about the rescue mission and about what followed after. "Sounds to me they're in pretty bad shape over there," said Kala.

"He's perfectly fine," said Matt, dismissively.

"Matt, he nearly got killed," said Kala.

Matt said, "He's just a..." before stopping.

"What? A dragon?" snapped Kala, "You know how you treated the dinosaurs. You know how Hawthorn treated me. You know how some people would have treated Megan if they knew about her. Tell me how the way you're treating Spyro is any better."

"He's the same type of dragon as Malefor. You know what that might mean?" yelled Matt, angrily, causing Kala to shrink back.

"Matt, he's still only a teenager," said Kala.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" said Matt, angrily.

"You're punishing him for something he hasn't done yet and might never do," said Kala.

Matt glared. "I will not have a possible traitor in this city..." he began.

"Then why not get rid of me, or Megan, or Striker?" snapped Kala.

"That's not the same!" said Matt, defensively

"Is it?" accused Kala, "Because I think it's just a paper-thin excuse to let your own prejudices out."

Matt glared before getting up to leave.

"If Spyro were here, you would have handed him to Hawthorn, wouldn't you?" demanded Kala.

Matt stopped at the door before saying, "No..." before walking out.

…

Matt sat back in his chair in his office, Kala's words bouncing around his head. The one going around his was that of Kala asking if he would have handed Spyro over to Hawthorn. Matt felt that he wouldn't have, but a nagging doubt was telling him otherwise. In front of him was the personnel transfer for the Romanian regiments, a single name already written in. All it needed was his signature.

A little later, a secretary came in, taking the pile of signed forms away. He looked at the one on the top before looking at surprise at Matt. "Are you sure, sir?" he said

"Yeah, don't ask me why," said Matt, "Just take it in before I change my mind."

"Yes, sir. Mr. Spyro will be on the next transport back," said the secretary, pushing the form back into the pile.

…

Meanwhile, Megan was working on an illusion to go out and explore the city proper. Since Hawthorn's little stunt with Kala, she'd been confined to her house.

"C'mon, these powers have to be good for something besides teleporting," said Megan as she tried to focus.

The laptop on her desk began to beep, the words 'Perimeter breach' flashing on and off. However, Megan had turned the sound off so heard nothing.

"C'mon, work with me," she said as she got a ball of dark energy in her hands.

A knock came from her door at that point, causing her to lose concentration, the energy fading away. "Oh for the love..." she grumbled before walking towards the door. She looked through the peephole and saw one of the guards outside.

"Madam...we need you to let us in," said the guard, his voice sounding dry.

"I'm busy," said Megan.

"This is an important security measure. There is an intruder in the fence," said the guard.

"Can't you guys handle it?" asked Megan.

"We have to check your cha...quarters," said the guard.

"Check them later, I'm trying to work on something," said Megan, starting to get annoyed.

"We do not want to risk the intruder killing you," said the guard.

Megan sighed and said, "Ok, fine," before starting to unbolt the door.

She opened the door and was nearly sick. The guard has a fist sized hole where his chest should have been and his eyes were glowing. "What the hell are you?" she asked.

The guard slumped as a mist came out and formed into a creature with red eyes. "I am Zamiel the Hunter," it said in a growling voice as two more demons came into view.

"Get away from me!" shouted Megan before blasting the demons with her eye beams.

The demons laughed as the beams hit them before they strode in. "You invited us in. It's not just vampires that works on," said one of the demons smugly.

"I said get away!" snapped Megan before her right sleeve tore open to let her massive maw of a forearm out. It snaked forward to chomp Zamiel. Zamiel grabbed it easily and pulled, knocking Megan down before he threw what looked like a worm at her. "Ew, get it away," said Megan, trying to smack the worm aside.

It shot round her neck and immediately she began to feel weak. "A little trick, it will make sure you don't make trouble before our master meets you," said Zamiel.

"I'm...not...going...anywhere..." groaned Megan as she felt the strength drain out of her.

"You're wrong there, mortal...dead wrong," said Zamiel, with a sneer.

As Megan's consciousness was starting to spin into oblivion, she heard one demon remark, "Boy, the line sure has fallen these days, hasn't it?"

"It does not matter. She has the blood. She is who the master wants," said another demon.

"Bundle her up and let's get going," said Zamiel, "The master has been waiting a long time for this." Then everything went black and Megan knew no more.

The three demons walked out, hovering Megan between them in a dark magic field and were blinded as floodlights illuminated them and a voice from the sky said, "Drop your weapons and surrender." The deafening sound of choppers switching off their silent rotors started up.

Zamiel turned to the other two and snarled, "I thought you said the coast was clear."

"This is your final warning: surrender or lethal force will be applied," said the voice, apparently coming from one of the human flying metal contraptions, more flying into view and their 'tanks' rumbling into range with dozens of troopers around them.

"Looks like we'll need a portal," said one of the demons.

"Right, you remember to bring it?" asked the other.

"Yes, I...it's gone...those little imps," said one of the demons, patting his belt pouch

Zamiel growled and said, "When I get my hands on those two little..."

"This is your final warning..." said the voice, anger visible in its tone now

"Now what do we do?" asked one of the demons.

"We could turn into birds and fly off," said the other.

"That will leave the girl behind," said the first demon.

"You want to get blown up?" asked the second.

"Hey, stop those civvies!" said a voice and two familiar people ran up to them.

"Need a hand, Zamiel?" said one of them.

Zamiel growled at them. "I ought to chop your hands off," he snarled.

"What? When we found your lost portal spell?" said the second 'human'.

You mean the one you stole," said the second demon.

"You wound us..." said the first one with a hurt look before a whistling noise was heard and a post shattered as a round hit it.

Zamiel growled and said, "We don't have time for this. Open the portal."

"Of course, oh Hunter," said the first imp, tossing a glass ball to the floor, causing a purple hole to appear where it hit.

"Get the girl," said Zamiel.

The other two demons picked up Megan and unceremoniously threw her into the opened portal before jumping in after her. A hail of gunfire pelted into Zamiel, knocking him over as, now the hostage was gone, the gunships began firing. That may have killed a mortal being, but Zamiel didn't truly qualify as one. He hobbled over to the portal and hurled himself into it.

The imps barely followed in time before the tanks and infantry joined in. One of the troopers radioed in to cease fire when it was clear the intruders had escaped. "Get Anderson on the line...he's gonna blow a fuse," he said.

…

The door to Matt's office slammed open. "LYNCH!" shouted Chris.

Matt yelped and clutched at his chest. "Couldn't you have at least knocked?" asked Matt.

Chris glared. "You said she'd be safe in that warehouse!" he yelled.

"Of course she's safe," said Matt, "Hawthorn never got near the place."

"Then what about the guys who dragged her off? My platoon cornered them and they literally dropped down a hole," said Chris angrily.

Matt blinked and said, "Dropped down a hole?"

"That's what my men say. The tracer I gave her said she's gone to that Romania dead zone," said Chris, calming down a bit.

"Uh, they did have a jet or something?" asked Matt.

"No...it was practically instantaneous," said Chris, showing a readout.

Matt took the readout and looked it over. "This is...impossible," he said.

Chris said, "You forgot how Megan pulled your ass out the fire with the same trick?"

Matt glared before saying sarcastically, "Yeah, she kidnapped herself, I can see it now."

"Fair point," said Chris, "In any case, I'm going after her."

"No, you're not. The Romanian dead zone's the biggest no go area on Earth except for South America and Africa. You try to go in there, you won't come out," said Matt.

"I'm not going to let that happen to Megan," said Chris, "I'm taking the next flight there."

Matt sighed. "Ok...I'll get a squad together. Haven't been to Romania since I had the security wall there set up," he said, before seeing Chris's surprise, "What? I have to go and give some new orders anyway...and I wanna get out of the city for a while."

"And get away from Kala for a while?" said Chris.

"Who told you that?" snapped Matt. Chris smirked to himself and Matt said, "Let's just get going."

…

Not far from the landing strip, a little snowfall had started. However, if one was looking in the right direction, they'd notice one white lump that was moving. As it got closer to the landing strip, it looked a lot like some kind of slug blob that was shivering with cold.

It looked around before homing in on the warmest thing around, the heat expeller on the waiting personnel jet. "W-w-w-w-warm..." said the shivering blob before waddling to the jet.

It sat on the jet engine and seemed to be content...until the pilot's testfired the engine, sending a brief burst of flame from the expeller vent. The blob looked significantly less cold now. "Ooh, toasty," it said.

The blob fell off the jet and looked over to see the open hold before climbing up inside. "Ah...much..." it began before a tech dropped a box of rifles on it. The tech was exiting the hold when he paused. He could have sworn he heard someone say 'I'm okay', but he just shrugged and walked on.

Matt and Chris, in combat gear, walked past the tech and towards the repurposed civilian jet. "Hey, I heard you were sending that purple pest back here," said Chris, conversationally.

"Well, yes," said Matt, "But I think there may be a slight delayment in his departure."

"Why's that?" asked Chris.

"I'd rather not he be here while I'm not," said Matt.

"I know...Techo, Wilson and Talia'll hold the fort," said Chris.

Matt briefly had an image of extremely disorganized offices as well as Striker running around with half his weight in meat over the mess. "Uh, let's not waste any time," said Matt.

…

Megan winced as she started to feel the world form around her again. But she still felt extremely drained.

"Ah...you're awake," said a voice, beyond her field of vision

"Where am I?" asked Megan.

"You are in Romania...as a guest of my master," said the voice before a blurry shape walked into view.

"Romania? How'd I get here?" asked Megan.

"A mutual friend brought you here," said the voice. Megan noticed, as her vision returned properly, that the figure seemed to be in desperate need of a haircut.

"I'm pretty sure we don't have any friends in common," said Megan.

"Oh...but you will have met him. Well, he's not exactly a 'Him'," said the figure.

Megan looked up at him properly and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Duke Lupo, loyal follower of..." began the figure before Megan saw WHAT Lupo was and screamed. Lupo glared and said, "It's rude to interrupt you know."

"W...w...w" stuttered Megan in horror.

Lupo grinned nastily, showing several sharp teeth. Then he said, "I believe the word you're looking for is 'werewolf."

Megan said worriedly, "Wh...Chris will burn this place down to find me.

Lupo smirked, "Oh...My master will be waiting...but you won't be."

**End of Chapter 11**


	13. Chapter 12

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft. **

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra. **

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter 12**

_'Hell's Half-Mile, Vulture Brigade's dirty secret. The Brigade prided itself on being efficient in dealing with dead zones, dangerous rift mutations. The half mile stretched along the only entrance from the Romanian dead zone in to Vulture Brigade territory and was the only stain on their perfect record. Even to this day, nobody truly knows what was in there. Demons, undead, things from your worst nightmares were said to stay in there. It was apparently brought to an end the day the Brigade's commander took a personal interest. However, it'll be another 70 years before we ever know._

_'Extract from 'Dragon Wars: A History of the Human Coalition'_

**Skies above Romania**

**ETA to landing strip: 10 minutes.**

Matt felt very tired, and it wasn't just because of jetlag. The last few days he had his hands full with dealing with a religious fanatic and his attempts to 'purge the unholy demons living in New Moscow'. Now he had to deal with this bloody mess.

"Why would his team have taken Megan to Romania? The only way out's through 800 men," he said, looking at the report.

"For all we know, there could be a natural labyrinth of tunnels beneath this place," said Chris.

"Tunnels 400 miles long?" said Matt, skeptically.

Chris shrugged and said, "All I know is that they're taking Megan to some place here and I'm gonna first tear them apart, then rescue Megan, then tear the place they were in apart."

"We'll have plenty of backup," said Matt before hearing a clunk from the cargo hold and what he swore was a cut-off yelp. He shrugged and went back to trying to rest before they arrived.

...

**Half Mile Base**

Spyro hadn't expected to be able to warm up to humans very fast. But apparently being through life-threatening situations together tends to build bonds.

Rick walked up to where Spyro was peering at some of what the canteen cook had claimed was macaroni cheese but looked more like porridge and said cheerfully, "Hey, kid, looks like you're outta here in a few days."

"That's what I've heard," said Spyro, "I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a compliment or an insult."

"Take it from me: better than here with the zombies. Thought you'd be happy to be outta here," said Rick, sitting down, dipping a finger in the macaroni cheese and eating the bit he fished out. "Urgh...you know, they say the worse the food, the stronger the army. If that's right, we should be unstoppable," he said, wincing from the taste.

"I sure could go for some sheep right now," said Spyro.

"Hah...good luck, mate. Only meat around here is mystery meat," said Rick with a laugh before Sarge walked up.

"Bad news, Spyro, looks like we have the honour of your company for a while longer. Commander Lynch is on the way in and he's given the order to ground all transports outta here," he called as he walked up.

"Lynch? I thought he stayed at his city," said Spyro.

"Usually...and that's only because the Coalition tell him how the Empire would just LOVE to get their claws on him. That guy loves field work," said Sarge.

"Well, he would get plenty of it out here," said Spyro.

"You sound like you met the guy." said Rick, confused.

"We've met," said Spyro, "But I don't think I've got the right impression from him."

"Yeah...he's not a big dragon fan," said Rick.

"I definitely got that impression," said Spyro.

"Great...this'll be fun," said Rick sarcastically.

"Well, I hope he at least brings some reinforcements," said Spyro, "We could really use some."

...

Matt looked out the chopper's window at the hole in the security wall and remembered the report he'd read. "That dragoness did one hell of a number," he muttered.

"Apparently," said Chris, "She must have been one of Malefor's top soldiers or something."

"Ok, I want descriptions passed onto Dragonslayer Division when we get back, but for now, let's get this sorted. I made a few calls while you were asleep on the flight. 3 divisions are on route from Fort Icarus. I have had enough of this place," said Matt as the chopper landed before his face darkened at something. "What the hell is that still doing here?"

"This was supposed to be his flight back, remember?" said Chris.

Matt glared at Chris before sighing. "Just get him out of my..." began Matt before Kala's words from the hospital echoed. "Just get him out of here," he finished.

"You said no one's gonna fly out until you've settled this," said Chris.

Matt growled before saying, "Fine, he can make himself useful. He can find the rest of his recon team."

"Matt, we don't have to drag him into this," said Chris.

"You said we'll need a good team to get Megan out," said Matt.

Chris said annoyed, "He barely got out of there alive the last time..." only for Matt to say to Chris's shock "Maybe we'll get lucky this time?"

Chris finally had enough of this and punched Matt right in the face. Matt fell back with shock on his face. "I had a lot more respect for you than that," said Chris, "When we first met, you didn't care how bad someone looked, you helped them out. You helped the Fairgreen, you helped Megan, but you won't be anything to a jerk to this dragon who's done nothing wrong to you. What the hell happened to 'it's not what you look like that counts', huh? You want Spyro to help us? Fine, but I'm at least asking him before shanghaiing him." Then Chris stormed out of the jet.

Matt just stared, his bloodied lip getting a few stares from the ground crew before he followed Chris off the chopper.

Unknown to them, a small blot of white slime dripped off the copter. It coalesced into a slug-like blob. He looked around and said, "Man, I shoulda stayed at that fort. Wonder if there's anything to eat around here?" He glanced towards the forbidding-looking mist cloaking the forest. "Hmm... mist means...berries! Ooh, I hope they're ripe!" It squelched off into the forest.

...

Spyro moaned in annoyance as he spotted Commander Lynch walk off the chopper, albeit with a tissue on his lip. 'This probably is not going to end well for me,' he thought.

Sarge yelled, "Squad...Attention!" and Rick stood up as Commander Lynch walked in their direction, following the other man who had gotten off. Spyro stood at attention, but he felt that he wouldn't be quite as uniformly insecure as the other soldiers, mainly by the fact that he had four legs.

Matt walked past them, stopping to look at Spyro. "Ok...You three..." he said, seeming unable to find the right words while glaring at Spyro before sighing. "Report to the armoury...and report to command in 30 minutes," he said

"Is that all, sir?" asked Rick.

Yes...don't be late," said Matt, darkly.

As soon as Matt had left, Rick turned to Spyro and asked, "What was that all about?"

Spyro said gloomily "That was the greeting I got when I arrived."

...

The trio walked into the warehouse being used for command to see Commander Lynch with two other people. The first was the person who had gotten off the chopper first and who was glaring at matt and the other was the commander of Hell's Half-Mile

"Is there a problem, sirs?" asked Rick.

The glaring commander said, "No, corporal...at ease."

Lynch said annoyed, "I want to know exactly what you saw in that dead zone."

"Well, there was this old castle," said Spyro, "I think the zombies and werewolves are using it as a base."

Matt glared and seemed about to say something before the base commander said, "Did you see anything else?"

"Well, we got into the corridors in there and we saw torture devices, really old-fashioned torture devices," said Sarge.

"Define 'old fashioned'," said Lynch, clearly annoyed.

"Rack, iron maiden, you name it," said Sarge.

Lynch looked surprised and said, "Who the hell are we dealing with?"

"Whoever, or more properly, whatever it is, it doesn't waste time with prisoners," said Rick.

"According to your report, you think it is the region's 'capitol'," said Lynch, looking at a PDA.

"Well, it seems to be the center of power," said Rick.

"How far into enemy territory are we gonna have to push?" said Matt.

Sarge looked thoughtful before saying, "100 miles maybe?"

"On foot, too," said Spyro, "The gargoyles will spot us if we flew."

"Great, we'll lose half our men pushing towards the place. Plenty of time for that jerk to start making hostage warnings," said Matt angrily.

Spyro said in shock "Someone's been kidnapped?

Matt glared at Spyro and said, "Did I ask for your-"

Chris spoke out, louder than Matt, "Yes, I'm not sure how, but they managed to sneak a captive from New Moscow to here...seemingly instantaneously."

Matt turned to glare at Chris before looking defeated. "She's just a kid...you've seen what it's like there..." he said faintly.

"What would they want with her?" asked Rick.

"How should I know?" asked Chris, "Why have they been capturing anyone?"

The base commander cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention before saying, "There might be someone. Civilian living in the town nearby, though I wouldn't take everything he says at face value."

Matt thought for a minute before saying, "Bring him in. If nothing else, we could at least use a good laugh."

The commander nodded before saying, "That's the problem: he doesn't like to leave the town."

Matt glared. "You're kidding me," he said icily.

"Yeah, he stays at the town hall, something about 'guarding the ancestral whatever'," said the commander.

Matt glared. "Fine..." he said through gritted teeth, Spyro sure he could see a vein faintly throbbing on his forehead.

...

The group went over to the town hall, Matt grumbling about 'pointless waste of time' the whole way. The town hall was easily identifiable by being larger than the other houses. That and the braziers by the door. Matt looked up at Spyro "And why is he coming, commander?" he said, annoyed.

"Well, he is one of the few who've been in that castle and lived to tell the tale," said the commander, "Plus, you'll need all the help you can get to deal with whatever's in there."

"Fine..." said Matt coldly before knocking on the door, "Vulture Brigade, open up please."

A slot opened and a voice in a strong Russian accent said, "Vat is it?"

Matt, who didn't have good knowledge of Russian said, "Das vidanya. I'd like to..." only for the man on the other side to say "That means goodbye." slamming the slot shut in Matt's surprised face.

The commander sighed before knocking on the door. "Sorry to borrow your time, but Commander Lynch here is mounting a rescue expedition to that castle in the valley," he said.

The civilians who were in hearing range all stared like the commander had said a nuclear missile was inbound, running for their houses like their butts were on fire. The voice inside said in a hushed tone, "You do not know of the evil that you are dealing with."

Chris covered his eyes with his palm and said in a tired voice, "Yeah...that's kinda why we're here."

The sound of several bolts sliding was heard before the door opened. "Come inside, quick," said the voice. Matt looked at the others with a 'we're trusting this guy?' expression before walking in first, Spyro trotting in next, not sure what to expect while the rest followed shortly after.

The inside certainly had a Slavic feeling to it. What with the several stuffed boar heads and deer antlers mounted on the wall, the candles held in brackets, and the large fireplace. The person himself was probably a great bear of a man once, but age had whittled him down considerably.

Spyro gulped as he spotted what worriedly looked like a dragon skull before following the rest. Matt however looked at the man before sitting opposite him. "Ok...what's in that castle?" he said bluntly.

"Something that we thought had been buried for good long ago," said the old man.

"Ok, people are at risk here. I don't have time for cryptic rubbish...what's...in there?" said Matt, annoyed

"A monster, a creature that calls itself the Dark Dragon," said the old man.

Matt said, "Malefor? We'd have noticed him hanging around. Last intel put him at his 'capitol' in Copenhagen...overseeing the 'rebuilding'."

The old man scoffed and said, "This beast has plagued our lands long before the other dragons arrived, or the dinosaurs, long before even the former world powers were even formed."

The group looked surprised at that. Matt caught on first, "Wait, Dracula was a flying flame...a dragon?"

"Not quite," said the old man, "The Dark Dragon was indeed like a vampire, but it was much more than that. It was what you would call a dracolich and necromancer."

"Great...more undead," said Rick to himself.

"You keep saying 'was'," said Spyro, "Why is that?"

"I will show you," said the old man, getting up and walking towards the fireplace.

The man walked over to the fireplace and pushed one of the bricks into a recess in it. The wall beside him creaked before opening to reveal a staircase leading down. "Come this way," he said.

"Ooh, neat," said Rick before walking to a candle in a bracket, "Say if, I move this candle, will it…" He yanked the candle up, only to cause the drippings to splatter onto the floor.

"Get hot wax on the floor, yes," said the old man with annoyance.

"Tell me what you see down there," said Spyro, seeing how the staircase wound too narrowly for a quadruped his size to get down.

Matt shrugged. "Why not?" he said before following

The staircase led them to a stone chamber. The old man put a torch to a brazier, illuminating it. The room had several shelves holding what looked like various artifacts that looked mystical, tomes covered with ancient runes, and a large tapestry that covered one wall.

Matt looked at one of the books and opened it to a page at random. "How much did you pay for these?" he said skeptically. The book suddenly growled and snapped down on Matt's hand.

The man didn't look up at Matt's scream. "They are very old...and very sensitive...please don't insult them," he said

"PAPER CUT! PAPER CUT!" yelled Matt.

The man sighed and said something in Russian, causing the book to fall open at a page.

"The Dark Dragon has been a menace to these lands for centuries. No one knows where it came from, but we do know that it wishes to enslave the living with his army of the dead," said the old man.

"I'm pretty sure the werewolves aren't actually dead," said Sarge.

The man turned and snapped, "Do not interrupt me!"

"Sorry," said Sarge.

The old man cleared his throat and said, "The Dark Dragon would have prevailed if a family of sorcerers had not opposed him. The family has kept the Dark Dragon at bay for several generations. Until one day when the latest in the line decided to put an end to it all." He gestured towards the tapestry, which depicted a man using what looked like lightning to fight a dragon. Only, this dragon did not look like Spyro or Malefor. It had a long thin body, with only two legs and much longer wings. Its serpentine neck stretched forward as the horned head belched purple flames at the sorcerer.

"Man, that is one ugly asshole," said Rick in awe.

"It was a great battle," said the old man, "Both of them were masters of magic. But the sorcerer eventually managed to defeat the Dark Dragon to such an extent that all thought it would impossible for it to come back."

"Obviously he was wrong if he's responsible..." said Matt, only for Chris to say angrily "Why did he take Megan?"

"Well, we suspect that the third energy fallout may have been responsible for awakening the monster, but not enough to allow him to arise," said the old man, "For that, he'll need the blood of a descendent. But the family has been gone for generations. They probably do not bear the same name anymore."

Chris looked thoughtful. "How would he spot a bloodline member?" he said.

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Well, they could always tell if a child has inherited the magical talent if he or she was born with red eyes."

Matt and Chris looked at each other. "What are the chances?" said Matt faintly, dreading the answer.

"Well, the pictures that her dad used to show me, before she mutated, showed that she had red eyes," said Chris, "He said it was a minor form of albinism."

"Albinism, my arse," said Matt, rudely before turning to the old man, "How long would we have to stop this ritual?"

"If a descendent has been found, then the Dark Dragon will be able to rise when the moon is in the midnight position," said the old man.

"That's...12 hours from now, thank you," said Chris, looking at his watch before back at the old man.

"Then you must hurry," said the old man, "If the Dark Dragon should return..."

"Yeah, we already have problems with one evil dragon, I'm not gonna try to deal with two," said Matt.

Matt walked out with Chris and the commander. "This is nuts...undead dragons? One is bad enough," he said before seeing Chris's glare and saying darkly, "I meant Malefor."

"So you believe that whole 'Dark Dragon' legend?" asked the commander

"Not for a second, but I also thought the trip to the US would be easy...and I was wrong there," said Matt, gloomily.

"Either way, those werewolves must believe or I'm not going to let them sacrifice Megan, particularly if it's over a pagan ritual that won't even work," said Chris.

"Let's see those mutts handle a full armoured division," replied Matt angrily.

"I wouldn't recommend that," said the commander, "It's not just that it'll leave the town defenseless, but that forest is trickier than it looks. It's very easy to get lost in there."

"We still have a few daisy cutter bombs," said Chris, "We can clear that forest with ease...and roll in after."

"The villagers don't want any deforestation," said the commander, "It would destroy the habitats of the hunting animals."

"Commander, I've got my own men on route. They'll be here in 6 hours. I have had enough of this zone. I am taking out whatever freak had the cheek to attack one of my friends," said Matt, angrily.

As Matt walked out the door, Spyro said to him, "I think you need to calm down and think this out all the way."

Matt turned and practically spat, "And what would you know about this? Your...species drove us behind our security wall, treats us worse than vermin, tries to exterminate us every chance they have, I DO NOT NEED YOUR ADVICE!"

Spyro glared and said, "As if your own species have treated themselves any better. I've been reading your history books. Some of your previous leaders were just as bad as Malefor."

Matt snapped and it was only Chris grabbing Matt's pistol arm and pushing it down stopped Matt shooting Spyro. "You don't get the right..." Matt said in a low growl.

"Actually, I think there's a certain rule that says that a commander must vacate his position if he is emotionally unstable," said Chris.

"Screw that...I am perfectly fine," said Matt, taking a few breaths before holstering his pistol.

"That temper of yours says otherwise," said Chris.

Matt smirked and said, "What about when you overheard that guy bad-mouthing Megan?"

"That's...more personal," said Chris.

"Who is this Megan anyways?" asked Spyro.

"A...kid we found in America. We evacuated her when we had to retreat," said Matt, reluctantly.

"Let me guess, she was an orphan whose parents were killed during the war," said Spyro.

"No...whose parents were vaporized in a third energy blast," said Matt darkly.

"How old was she when this happened?" asked Spyro.

Not much older than 11..." said Chris sadly.

"Well, at least she got to know them," said Spyro, "I never knew my birth parents."

Matt looked at Spyro at that before sighing and looking down. "We're all orphans here, it seems," he said to himself.

"Look, we might not really like each other, but we can agree on some things, right?" said Spyro.

"Yeah...whoever took Megan's gonna fry," said Matt, pushing past them.

Chris and Spyro watched Matt walk off. "Well, it's a start," said Chris.

…

Meanwhile, in a darkened room inside the castle, the imps were scurrying back and forth to get things ready for the ritual. One of the imps stopped after a minute and said "Why have we gotta do this? This is work for those overgrown puppies."

"You really want to tell it to them?" asked the other.

"Well, no, but he won't be able to do the ritual until midnight. We can take our time with this."

The two thought about this before the other said, "What if he catches us slacking off?"

"Ah, he's got better things to do than worry about how his ritual's being set up," said the first imp, "It can wait a little while, right?"

The second imp wasn't listening, instead staring straight up in terror at a shape hovering near the ceiling

"What? What is... He's here, isn't he?" asked the first imp.

"Yes I am you little demonic time wasters," said the voice of the imps master.

Both imps yelped and jumped to attention. "Uh, ritual setting is ahead of schedule, your vaporousness," said the second imp.

"Oh? It doesn't look that way to me...GET ON WITH IT" said the cloud, adding "AND DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"Sir, we'll have it set up in time," said the first imp, "There's nothing to fret about."

The shade glared at them and said, "Do you two have any idea how long I've been waiting for this night?"

"Erm...a long time?" suggested one of the imps nervously.

"It was nearly 1500 years ago when that accursed wizard managed to defeat me," growled the shade, "And it was only when the chaos storms started appearing that I was able to release my spirits and pull together some of my old powers. And now that I've finally found the descendent I need, I will not wait one more night for my resurrection."

The imps immediately began running around in terror-shaped blurs. The shade seemed satisfied with this. "Soon, I will be flesh again and no mortals will stand in my way," it said.

…

Matt had not been kidding about pulling out all the stops. A full tank battalion was on route and Chris had caught him talking to the local VB aerial squadron, organizing a bombing run.

"Uh, Matt, while I appreciate your enthusiasm in getting Megan back, don't you think this is a bit...overkill?" asked Chris.

"They came into my hometown, took one of my allies hostage, what would you do?" said Matt, darkly.

"Yes, but we need to remember we're supposed to get Megan out of there alive," said Chris.

"We're going in with one of the best infantry teams here. Mr. Spyro will be on point," said Matt, casually.

"Is that supposed to be confidence in his abilities or a shallow attempt to get rid of him?" asked Chris accusingly.

"The first, he led the way, his teammates are human. He's the only guy who has enough energy to lead the way," said Matt, nastily.

"Anyways, the tanks are conspicuous enough," said Chris, "Putting a purple dragon in the front won't help much with that."

"The tanks will take the long way round. Our team will go on foot through this forest here," said Matt, pointing to a map of the area.

"This route's a bit treacherous," said Chris, "We could easily walk into an ambush in there."

"My men are the best. I remember they sneaked up on your little camp a year ago," said Matt, smirking as he referred to how the brigade had taken Chris's enclave camp in under 10 minutes.

"That was a snowbound harbor, this is a foggy forest," said Chris, somewhat annoyed by the reference.

"We can handle a forest," said Matt, with a sigh.

…

Matt looked out at the fog-ridden forest. "Then again...maybe we coulda taken the long way with the armoured division?" he said nervously

"What's the matter, Lynch?" teased Chris, "Afraid the big bad wolf's gonna pop out and eat out?"

"Up yours, Chris," said Matt, annoyed before turning to look at Spyro. "Ok...know which way is best?"

"Well, the forest is probably the fastest way," said Spyro, "At least if you want to go in a straight line. But I don't like the feel of the forest. It's creepier than the ones I've been in and I bet it has worse than trolls in there."

"Oh please...how bad can it be?" said Matt, peering nervously.

"Well, either way, we need to keep a move on," said Chris, "If we wait any longer, the moon will probably be at its peak when we get there."

"And if the files are right, that means really big doggies," said Matt, jumping off the transport they'd taken.

"I'm more worried about those zombies and gargoyles," said one of the troopers as he got off.

Matt scoffed to himself. "Gargoyles? This isn't New York, I think we're safe," he joked.

"There were gargoyles," said Spyro, "I fought them myself."

Matt laughed to himself. "It was probably a security droid or something. You should see the weird stuff that was coming out of the tech companies," he said.

"It looked like real stone to me," said another trooper.

"Huh?" said Matt, looking up in confusion.

"Those gargoyles," said the trooper, "They've done a few strafing runs on us. Not really much, just dropping big rocks. But they didn't look like fakes."

Matt and Chris exchanged a look. Team Helsing had been sent in a day ahead of the rest. "Erm...these gargoyles...how big are they?" said Chris in a careful voice.

"Uh, on average, they're about the size of chimps," said a trooper.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Of course they are. When we're finished, you are on mandatory R&R!" he said.

The troopers looked at each other and shrugged. "Well, we warned them," said one.

"Hey, at least we'll get a vacation if we live," said the other.

...

The group walked through the forest, looking around. Matt was the most nervous as he was sure the trees were moving. Chris kept his gun pointed upwards, fully expecting something to drop down and try to kill them.

"Chris...we're not in a damn rerun of Van Helsing," said Matt, annoyed and pushing Chris's gun down.

"Considering we're dealing with werewolves, zombies, and undead dragons, I'm not taking my chances," said Chris.

Matt said stubbornly, "That doesn't mean that there are gargoyles," before one of the troopers yelled 'CONTACT' and fired at the faint shape of a zombie in the mist.

Matt clutched at his chest and said, "A little warning next time before you give me a heart attack."

Chris said, "Better than being eaten."

Just then, they heard something, a groaning, creaking sound that seemed to come from all around. "That doesn't sound like zombie," said one of the Russian troopers nervously.

"Just keep on your toes," said Matt, "And try to find which direction it's coming from."

"It's all around us," said another trooper in a shaking voice.

"Very perceptive, now find how what's causing it," said Matt.

Matt turned to Spyro. "Can you see anything, dragon boy?" he yelled, keeping his eyes on the trees.

Spyro peered around and said, "No, and I can't smell anything either, just forest."

A scream got everyone's attention, the group turning to see a trooper being dragged into the canopy...by a branch.

Matt blinked and rubbed his eyes. "Uh, did I just see what I thought I saw?" he asked.

A trooper twitched as another sharper branch skewered him from behind. "I think we did," said Chris in a shaking voice

Spyro watched as the trees started leaning in towards them, branches stretching down like clawing arms. "Uh, this looks like very dark magic to me," he said.

"Nonsense, they're just...mutant trees," said Matt, "Like the ones we were warned about on our way to Cascade Falls."

More of the trees were starting to move. A trooper managed to unsling his flamethrower and opened up on the treeline. Fortunately, a couple of the branches were dry and caught fire immediately. A shrieking sound was heard from the trees.

The group quickly pulled out their flamethrowers and started burning the trees, Spyro aiding with his natural flamethrower abilities. Matt watched impressed as Spyro practically vaporized 3 trees with ease. "Nice to have a walking napalm strike at our backs," said Matt.

Spyro turned at that. "So I'm just a walking weapon now?" he said, annoyed.

"Well, not quite," said Matt before noticing the ground starting to crack, "Uh, no time to talk."

Dozens of wooden 'tentacles', the tree roots shot out, tangling up the group's feet. "What are these things?" asked one trooper as he tried to pull his leg free.

"They're the roots," said Chris as he pulled out a machete and started hacking at them.

Matt and Spyro were looking at the treeline where a half dozen strange creatures holding glowing staffs were walking into view.

"Uh, that doesn't look like the welcome wagon," said Matt.

"Surrender in our master's name," growled one of the creatures.

"I don't think so," said Matt before firing.

The creatures simply stood and took the shots before firing a blast into Matt's chest, sending an arc of lightning around Matt, knocking him out.

"Uh, maybe a strategic retreat is in order," said one of the troopers.

"None of you are leaving," said another of the troopers, walking forward to show what looked like a normal human...till he showed his fangs.

"Uh, no one said anything about vampires," said another trooper.

Spyro glared and readied a blast only for Chris to mutter, "Hold it, kid..."

Spyro stopped and asked, "Why?"

"Cause..." muttered Chris, nodding up to several gargoyles holding boulders

"Told you they were real," said Spyro.

...

Matt opened his eyes with a groan to see a stone roof in front of him...oh and a headache the size of Malefor. "Ooooow." he said weakly.

"Uh, good news, Matt," said Chris, "We're inside the castle."

"What's the bad news?" said Matt, quietly.

"We're in the dungeon," said Chris.

"Crap...and not...so loud," said Matt, weakly.

"Hey, you've broken out of tougher places, right?" asked Chris.

"Yeah...but I've usually had an army nearby though," said Matt, annoyed,.

"Well, we have that backup team taking the long route," said Chris.

How long have I been out cold?" said Matt, dully.

Chris said "8 hours..." and jumped back as Matt shot upright with a 'WHAT?'!"

"Well, you were hit by a lightning spell," said Chris.

Matt winced at the memory. "Where's dragon boy?" he said after a minute.

"I'm not sure," said Chris, "But I heard one of the guards mentioning a 'special delivery' that's going to be picked up."

"Delivery? Crap," said Matt, sitting back again, "Any word from the rest of our forces?"

"Well, as near as I can guess, they'll be here in about an hour," said Chris, "However, moon high will be in 45 minutes."

Matt thought about that for a second. "Didn't that guy back at the town say something about full moon equaling bad things?" he said.

"Besides the obvious werewolf problem, Megan's apparently going to be sacrificed as soon as the moon's in its highest point," said Chris, "And I'm not gonna wait around for that."

"...and then we bomb the guilty party back to hell," said Matt, an evil grin on his face.

"Uh, aren't you forgetting that we're inside the castle that's going to be bombed?" asked Chris, "Because unless I'm mistaken, you told them to demolish the place as soon as they got there."

Matt stopped grinning at that and began swearing in a selection of languages.

"Fortunately, it looks like they haven't update the locks for a couple of centuries," said Chris, looking at the cell door, "You do know how to pick a lock, right?"

Matt looked at the rusty lock and kicked it. The rust gave way at the third kick and the cell swung open. "No time to pick," said Matt, nastily.

"Great, now let's get the others out," said Chris.

…

Meanwhile, the white blob from before was wandering through the forest. "Stupid forest," it muttered, "No berries at all, just pinecones."

The blob had to admit though that this forest was more interesting than most given that the trees moved...and sometimes hit him.

At some point, he had reached the edge of the forest, but it was definitely not the side he had come in from as he didn't remember seeing a big spooky castle before. He looked up at the skeleton hanging next to the door. "Hmm...bit early for Halloween. Maybe they have directions...and pie?" said the blob before heading for the open gates.

However, it tripped over a stone and knocked into the side of the gate. The gate shook a bit, causing a skull that was hanging on top to fall over and onto the blob.

Several werewolf troopers, holding tazer sticks came into view and looked around before spotting the blob, the skull completely covering it. "Hey...you're supposed to be helping the master get the ritual ready," said one angrily.

"Okey dokey," said the 'skull', "Can we stop for pie on the way? I like pie."

The two werewolves watched as the skull wandered in before they looked at each other. "Zombies eat pie?" said one of the guards in a confused voice.

…

Meanwhile, Matt and Chris had managed to break out most of the group. But Spyro and Megan were still missing.

"Dammit...this place is a smegging maze," said Matt as they ended up in another dead end.

"And I don't have a ball of twine on me," said Chris.

"Leave the smart comments to me," said Matt, opening a door and seeing a pair of zombies sitting at a table and playing cards.

The two zombies seemed less rotted then the ones that usually attacked the security wall, one saying in a normal voice, "What does that cloud jerk want now?"

"Uh, he wants to know where the purple dragon's being held," said Chris.

"That guy? I heard the boss was gonna use his body to perform the parts of that damn ritual he has to do personally," said the first zombie before turning to his companion, "Got any twos?"

"So, the girl's also there?" asked Matt.

The zombies shrugged and one of the arms fell off the left one, several cards falling out his sleeve. Matt and Chris just stared in horror. The zombie looked down at it. "Sorry about that. Boss told us to make sure the stitching is fresh when the new guys arrive," it said apologetically.

"I knew you were cheating," snapped the other zombie.

"Oh, don't give me that," said the first zombie, "You've been stuffing cards in your ribs."

"That only happened once," said the second zombie. Matt sighed and walked over to a row of swords, picked up one and weighed it...and chopped both the zombies' heads off.

"Oh, come on," said one annoyed.

"Sorry, can't risk you guys, you know, raising the alarm and chasing us," said Matt.

"But it's not even our shift," said one of the heads.

Chris picked one up by the hair. "Where's Megan?" he said angrily.

"Why should I tell you?" snapped the head.

Chris looked at a pot of water boiling on the nearby fire before looking back at the head who said, "You wouldn't."

"Zombie head soup anyone?" asked Chris as he held the head over the pot.

The other head said, "Well...we won't tell you that the kids in the east tower under heavy guard..."

The first head said quickly "...or that there is a secret entrance."

"Ah, would you care not to tell us where the secret entrance is?" asked Chris.

"It's definitely not next door behind the bookcase," said the first head desperately.

"Very well then," said Chris before turning to Matt, "What shall we do with these guys?"

Matt kicked the first head into a bin in the corner. The heads voice said, "Oh yeah...very mature."

"Like the smell's any different," said Matt.

"I don't complain about your smell...what happened? Soap didn't survive the apocalypse? OW!" said the head, yelping as Matt tossed a book at the bin.

"Anyone up for a quick round of kickball?" asked Chris, tossing the other head up and down.

"Oh crap...I knew I shoulda stayed in the coffin," said the head nervously.

...

In the east tower, a couple of werewolf guards were standing watch in front of a pair of cages. These cages were reinforced steel which were doubly reinforced with magic. Which makes perfect sense when you consider their unusual prisoners.

Spyro was laying down in his cage, trying to work out why he'd been kept separate. His cell neighbor was apparently the girl they had been coming to rescue. He was a bit surprised by her appearance, what with all her extra arms and eyes. He thought Matt and Chris would have brought that up earlier.

The girl herself had spent most of the time yelling at the guards who were somehow managing to ignore it...though Spyro was sure one of them had a nervous tic on his eye.

Unfortunately, the yelling was starting to get to Spyro too and holding his paws over his ears wasn't helping much. Eventually, he decided that he had to stop it. "Uh, excuse me," he said, "You're Megan, right?"

The girl stopped in mid yell and turned to give Spyro a red eyed angry glare that despite everything. made him want to inch away. "Who's asking?" she said in an evil voice.

"Um, a friend, I think," said Spyro.

The red glow faded from the girl's eyes and she said in a more reasonable voice, "Why didn't you say so?"

At the same time, one of the guards yelled, "FINALLY...!"

"Uh, these kids obviously want to have a private conversation, let's give them some alone time," said the other guard.

"The boss said we had to keep an eye on..." began the other word before realizing the real reason and saying in a slow deliberate voice, "Yes...lets...far away."

"Yeah, we need coffee anyways," said the first guard, "To make sure we don't fall asleep."

The two guards walked out, one stopping briefly to make sure the magical suppression spells were still going.

Spyro blinked and said, "Well, that seemed easy."

"Easy? I was the one haranguing them," said Megan.

Spyro looked a bit surprised at Megan's attitude, "You're not horrified that I'm a dragon?"

"Eh, you're a little one," said Megan. Spyro peered at Megan in surprise...given he was about the same size as her. "I mean, you're nowhere as big and scary as those other dragons," said Megan.

Spyro glared a bit. "What do you mean by that?" he said, his pride feeling a little bruised.

"I mean, you're obviously pretty young for a dragon," said Megan, "What are you, 10, 11?"

"I'm 16 actually," said Spyro scathingly.

"Oh, sorry," said Megan, "Uh, is that in dragon years?"

Spyro doubled up the glare a little before changing the subject. "Do you know why he kidnapped you?" he said

"Something about my family, my really long dead family," said Megan.

Spyro sighed. "It can't be good..." he said before saying, "Why does he want me then?"

"I think it may have something to do with that other purple dragon," said Megan.

Spyro's eyes narrowed and he said with barely concealed hatred, "Malefor. I've met him before."

"So did I," said Megan, "How did you escape him?"

Spyro said with a little pride, "We didn't...me and Cynder beat him."

Megan stared at him before saying, "Yeah right."

Spyro wilted before saying, "It's true, we banished him to our world's core..."

"Right, and I suppose the mole people helped with that," said Megan.

Spyro growled at that and said, "He nearly destroyed our world. Me and Cynder nearly died sealing him away."

"Uh, if you sealed him away in your world, how'd he end up here?" asked Megan.

"I don't know, maybe the same storm that dragged me and Cynder here..." said Spyro before lying down again and saying quietly, "Cynder...she's probably going out of her head wondering where I am."

"Cynder sounds pretty important," said Megan, "Who is she anyways?"

Spyro didn't turn around to look at her but said, "She's...a good friend. I wouldn't have beaten Malefor without her."

"Well, I wish she was here because I don't think we'll like what this thing will do with us," said Megan.

A voice in the room said, "It's worse than you think, girl."

Spyro looked around and asked, "What was that?" Megan looked up and yelped, pointing to a cloud spinning near the ceiling. Spyro looked up at the cloud and said, "So you're the Dark Dragon. Or whatever's left of him."

"For now...but this...human here will give me back my body. But until then, I need a loaner as some parts of the ritual need the personal touch. Open wide, little dragon," said the cloud in an amused tone before at shot at Spyro. Spyro breathed fire at the cloud as it came close to him.

The cloud laughed cruelly. "How cute, you're trying to kill me," it said as it flowed around Spyro. "Didn't anyone tell you? You can't kill what's already dead," before it shot down Spyro's throat.

Spyro choked and gagged as the darkness went down his throat. Megan backed up as Spyro seemed to have a fit before his eyes opened to show they were bloodshot. "Hmm...not my first choice, but it should do for a while," said Spyro in a rasping voice.

"What have you done to him?" demanded Megan.

'Spyro' turned to face Megan and said, "Don't worry about him, he's just a temporary host. Your situation, however, is going to be much more permanent."

Megan gulped and said nervously, "Wh-what are you gonna do?"

"Oh, not too much," said 'Spyro', "Just take some blood. After all...why waste good food?"

…

Meanwhile, the rescue team was navigating their way through the castle. However, since the only clue to go on was to go east, it wasn't very easy.

Matt had kept the sword he'd found as well as a rifle he had found in a room where the team's gear had been stored.

"Matt, I don't care what you say, owning a sword does not automatically make you a badass," said Chris.

"Shut up..." said Matt, peering around a corner.

"Oh sure, that's a real mature and witty retort-" started Chris before Matt pushed him down.

Several werewolves went by the two's hiding place, apparently just patrolling. Matt let go of Chris and peered out. "Too close," he said.

"Yeah, but we gotta hurry," said Chris, "Moon high is in 15 minutes."

The two headed for the room the werewolves had been guarding and peered in. Inside was a room that was lit only by a few oil lanterns dangling from the ceiling. However, they were enough to see the intricate lines painted on the floor, the candles that, though burning purple flames, radiated no great amount of light, and the runes that have painted with what looked like blood. In the middle of the room was a low altar on which a large cup that appeared to be carved from solid ivory and a large ceremonial knife laid. Raised above the altar was what suspiciously looked like an executioner's block for beheading people. The only other in the room was what looked like a fossilized pterodactyl embedded in the far wall.

Matt looked at the pterodactyl and poked it. "Wow...fossils get everywhere these days," he commented.

"These don't look like dinosaur bones to me," said Chris.

"Uh, pteranodons aren't dinosaurs," said Matt, "This head looks like a dragon," tapping it and jumping as a piece fell off. Matt looked around before picking up the piece and trying to stick it back where it was.

Chris turned as footsteps were heard and dragged Matt down behind a table on the edge of the room. Three werewolf guards in what were obviously ceremonial uniforms walked into the room. Behind them, Megan was pulled in by the chain binding her wrists. She didn't seem to be in too bad shape, even if she was only wearing a simple black shift.

Matt had to grab Chris to stop him jumping at them. "Easy...not yet," he whispered.

However, he nearly lost his grip when he saw who came in next. It was Spyro, distinctively not bound or guarded in any way. "Hurry," said Spyro in a strange voice, "The moon will be out of position if we stall any longer."

It was Chris's turn to hold down Matt. "That little...I told you...we can't trust him," he hissed.

"Whoa, whoa, let's not jump to conclusions," said Chris.

"Keep her still," said 'Spyro', "We don't want to spill any blood on the floor."

"Uh, ok, now we can jump to conclusions," said Chris.

"You take the ones on the left," said Matt, chambering a round into his pistol.

"And you get Megan," said Chris.

Matt nodded and said quietly "On the count of 3. 1...2..." Suddenly, a pair of clawed hands picked them both up by the back of their shirts. "Uh, three?" said Matt.

Matt and Chris were spun to show that one of the werewolves held him easily. "So...eavesdroppers, hmm?" said Spyro.

"At least we're not traitors," snarled Matt.

Spyro looked confused for a second before he started to laugh coldly. "You think this poor creature is acting of his own free will? Has humanity forgotten so much?"

Matt didn't know what 'Spyro' was talking about, but the laugh was enough to get his blood boiling. "I'm going to wring that long neck of yours," he snapped.

"If you wish," said 'Spyro', "This body's just a rental."

Chris twigged. "You're not Spyro...are you?" he said carefully.

Matt glared, "You're buying this crap?"

"Uh, yeah, Spyro's being possessed by a dark spirit thing," said Megan.

'Spyro' turned in shock at that before roaring at the two werewolves with free hands, "I thought that gag was secure!"

"It's that stupid hair," said one of the werewolves.

"It keeps untying it," said the other.

Spyro growled, "Then tie that up too..."

Matt rolled his eyes and said, "Let me guess, you think you're this big Dark Dragon spook."

"I know I am, but as my body is in that wall over there and...where is my lower jaw?" said Spyro, turning to look at the fossil and noticing the part Matt had broken off.

"Ok, drop the act now, you're not scaring anyone," said Matt, quickly changing the subject "There's no such things as real undead."

Spyro actually laughed at that. "I congratulate you. In all my centuries, I've never seen a worse case of denial," he said after a minute.

"It's not denial, there's a logical explanation for everything," said Matt, "The zombies are just some fallout mutants, the gargoyles are robots in disguise, you've imported some mutant carnivorous trees to plant in the forest, had some third energy wielders dress up like vampires, and your mangy mutts are probably the result of some genetic engineering/breeding program."

The werewolf holding them said in a cultured voice, "Well, I say, you do realize I am right here listening to your negative and erroneous comments, correct?" before noticing everyone was staring "What? Because I am a werewolf means I cannot have an education."

Spyro smirked and said, "Well, I have just the cure for disbelief. Put the girl on the block and hold her friends. I want them to watch everything."

Matt and Chris were slammed against the wall and pinned as Spyro began to chant something, the runes on the floor starting to glow. The third werewolf hauled Megan up onto the block. He forced her down until her head hanged over the edge, right above the ivory cup.

Matt tried to struggle, getting his arm free and punching the werewolf on the forehead to no effect.

The werewolf responded in kind, but his punch was a lot more effective. Chris winced as Matts head flopped forward, Matt out cold before watching as Spyro readied a claw. "DON'T YOU DARE!" he yelled.

"It's nothing personal," said Spyro, "But I want my old bones back."

Chris watched in horror as Spyro leaned forward...and carefully pricked Megan on the cheek, causing a drop of blood to fall into the cup's contents. Megan blinked and asked, "That was it?"

"Waste not..." said 'Spyro' before he looked like he was about to vomit, making choking noises.

Just then, Matt was starting to come around. "What did I miss?" he asked.

He was in time to see Spyro fall over, choking up a black cloud that flowed around the cup for a second before shooting at the fossil on the wall. The contents in the cup bubbled and frothed before jumping out and spraying the fossil all over. Where the brackish liquid hit, it clung before seeming to spread.

Chris yelped before saying, "Man, that's nasty."

As the potion spread, it seemed to grow thicker. Then it gained even grooves, like muscles stripped of skin. As it entered the rib cage, it started forming into internal organs that were still grizzly exposed.

Matt woke up and stared groggily at the show before his eyes widened. The sight of seeing bones covered in half-rotted muscles, skin and other nasties was enough to make him heave.

Suddenly, he felt a strong tugging at his hand. He looked to see that the jawbone that he was still holding was straining against his grip as if something was pulling it. He yelped as the jawbone shot out his hand to place itself with a grizzly organic 'squelch'. "Ok...barf time," said Matt weakly.

The jawbone flew over to the skull, which was growing its own layer of flesh. It snapped into place before sinew and flesh covered it. The eye sockets of the skull flared with purple light as the half-rotten corpse started to move.

Matt DID throw up at that point, onto the arm of the werewolf holding him. Meanwhile, Spyro was starting to stir with a weak groan. All he could remember was a feeling of being trapped in a nightmare. Suddenly, there was the crack of stone breaking as the corpse started pulling itself from the wall. Fortunately, its skin had mostly grown back at this point, making the scene a little less gory. Spyro managed to shake the stars from his vision to see Matt and Chris pinned against the wall, Megan tied down...and what looked like a wyvern tearing its way from the wall.

The wyvern was much taller than Spyro, towering about 12 feet tall. Its body was long and thin, covered with grey, partially-decayed skin from his long neck to its very long tail. Its extra-long batlike wings had a black membrane that also looked decayed but still flight worthy. The wings had large claws that look as opposable as a human's hand. The head was very skull-like with purple eyes glowing in deep sockets. The wyvern gave a roar of triumph before saying, "Behold the might of Ghoulwyrm the Deathless!"

"Man, you're ugly. The last time I saw something like you, it was on the windscreen of my jeep," said Matt cheekily.

Ghoulwyrm growled and said, "Know your place, mortal, I am far more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

"Yeah...that's why you need stitching," said Matt cheekily.

"I do not think you are properly afraid," said Ghoulwyrm before calling, "Arise, my servants of darkness!" Suddenly, the shadows on the walls became much thicker. Then shapes started emerging from them. They appeared humanoid, but didn't seem to be made out of anything but shadow. Dark purple eyes were the only indications of a face. Ghoulwyrm grinned nastily as the shadow demons filled the rooms. "Where are your rational explanations now?" he taunted.

Matt said in a tiny voice, "Never mind."

"The purple hatchling has a meeting with Malefor, but as for the rest of you..." Ghoulwyrm raised a claw and the shadow demons extended razor-sharp claws, "Well, you don't need to be told."

Matt glared before saying, "Are you really this dumb? When did you actually live, 100bc?"

"Much longer than that," said Ghoulwyrm.

"1000BC?" said Matt cheekily before adding, "You certainly look like you were buried at that time."

Ghoulwyrm growled and said, "What's your point?"

"Well...one good match and you'll go up like a roman candle," said Matt, conversationally.

"If you're suggesting that I'm flammable, you're sadly mistaken," said Ghoulwyrm, "Even when undead, we dragons are well-protected against heat."

"What about bunker busters?" said Matt in the same tone.

Ghoulwyrm looked confused and said, "Bunker what?"

"You'll find out in...about 30 minutes," said Matt, smugly before a thought seemed to occur, mostly a 'Damn, I'm inside the building about to be blown up' type of thought "Ah crap." He said miserably.

"Whatever they are, they will not destroy my castle," said Ghoulwyrm, "These stones have been enchanted to withstand the most powerful spells. Anyways, you should be more concerned about your own safety." He raised one claw and said, "I was hoping my first meal would be the Heir, but considering her condition, you'll do better."

Matt glared. "What kinda weapons are these places enchanted against?" he said.

"Oh, catapults, Greek fire, gunpowder," said Ghoulwyrm, "You know, the usual sieging equipment."

Matt and Chris and even Megan began to grin. "You are in for a really bad day," said Chris, trying not to laugh.

Ghoulwyrm snarled and said, "Enough of this! Guards, tear them to pieces!"

Matt gulped as the werewolf let go of him and Chris to get a better grip...this time on their necks. "I'm gonna enjoy this," it said before laughing as Matt got a grip in its ear. "What's that supposed to be?" Matt gasped in an unintelligible way. The werewolf loosened its grip slightly, "What was that?"

"Wrist blade," choked Matt before there was a 'shrik' noise and the werewolf's eyes glazed over before slumping down.

Ghoulwyrm growled before yelling, "ENOUGH!" He opened his mouth wide and released an inferno of purple flames.

Matt yelped as the fireball headed towards him, only for the flames to curl around him. "Huh?" asked Matt before looking to see Spyro in front of him, breathing a small torrent of flame that made Ghoulwyrm's fire part around him.

Matt just stared at the dragon he'd made so miserable who was now deliberately blocking a blast meant for him. Ghoulwyrm roared angrily and sent a blast of dark energy out, knocking Spyro down. "You...reptile...you have no idea who you are dealing with," snarled Ghoulwyrm.

Just then, seven heat beams hit Ghoulwyrm in the back. Ghoulwyrm snarled and turned around to face Megan, whose eyes were still glowing. "Neither do you," said Megan.

Ghoulwyrm smirked as the wounds healed up in seconds. "You idiot, you have no idea what kind of powers you have. It's a shame you will never get to explore your potential," he sneered. Then he raised his wings and commanded, "Bind them!" The shadow demons started stretching themselves forwards, becoming longer and thinner. They wound themselves around Matt, Chris, Spyro, and Megan, completely immobilizing them.

Matt tried to get loose of the shadows but it was like he was glued in place. "You bloody cheat," he said angrily.

"I'm not afraid to cheat death, why should I be afraid to cheat you?" said Ghoulwyrm before raising a claw to slash Matt open.

...

Little did anyone know that the skulls on the rafters weren't all empty. One was tilted forwards so the blob inside could look down at what was happening. "Wow...this guy's as brave as the captain," said the blob before leaning too far and making the skull it was wearing slip off. "Oopsie," said the blob as it fell.

…

The skull knocked against the oil lantern that was hanging underneath the rafter, causing it to be knocked off its chain and fall as well. The skull hit the floor first, shattering as it did. As the others turned to look, the lantern crashed as well, causing all its oil to ignite at once in a blinding flash. Ghoulwyrm shrieked as some of the burning oil clung to his wings and he began flapping them desperately.

"That's our cue, time to leave," said Matt urgently

Quite fortunately, the shadow demons seemed to be very vulnerable to bright light and when the lantern blew up, the flash caused them to vaporize, freeing their captives. Matt led the way to the door, kicking it open. "Come on!" he yelled.

Ghoulwyrm was still trying to put out the fire on his wings, but that didn't stop him from noticing his prisoners escaping. "SEIZE THEM!" he roared.

Chris managed to pull his own surprise out...a grenade. "Here…enjoy the future," he yelled, pulling the pin and throwing it in. The dracolich didn't know how to respond before the grenade detonated.

The four were already down the corridor when the grenade blasted the room apart. "I think that'll deal with him," said Chris, smugly

Just then, a roar of "DESTROY THEM!" echoed down the corridor.

"That's a no," said Matt, grabbing Chris and dragging him. Spyro looked the most terrified. "Yeah, sure, you can rub it in later," said Matt, half-minding what he said, "Anyone know how to get out of here?"

Spyro looked around, half nervous. He had heard of the dracolich in stories at Warfang and it had not been pleasant...to be face to rotting face with one...well.

Matt looked around, muttering, "Where's an exit sign when you need one?" He did not want to be here when the raiding party came. If he could live that long judging by Ghoulwyrm's monumentally bad mood.

Matt finally noticed Spyro's pinpicks of pupils before yelling, "KID...SNAP OUT OF IT! This is not a good time for a freak out."

"I'd say this was the perfect time for a freak out," said Megan.

"No, Spyro's the only one who knows the layout...and as he is technically a member of Vulture Brigade at this time. HE CAN DAMN WELL SNAP TO ATTENTION!" said Matt, yelling the last part in Spyro's ear.

Spyro yelped in surprise and smacked Matt into a wall with his tail. Spyro looked bashful before saying, "Sorry, you startled me."

Matt winced. "Look...sorry but you need to get a clear head," he said, getting up unsteadily, adding, "We need an exit. I kinda lied about the 30 minutes."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Megan.

"We have more like...3 minutes." said Matt, a little guiltily.

One of Megan's eyes twitched before she said, "Uh, normally, I'd advise against it, but I think we should just blast our way out of here."

Matt looked at the wall before saying, "I think big n ugly thought of that...hmm." He looked over at Spyro who still looked a little shaken, "Hey, Spyro, try venting your fear...on that wall." Spyro turned to the wall and let out a blast of Earth power. The others jumped back as the wall...and the wall beyond that was pulverized to gravel. Matt carefully petted Spyro on the shoulder. "Very...good," he said in a small voice.

"Great, think he can pave us a road out of here?" asked Chris.

A roar got their attention...but it wasn't from Ghoulwyrm's direction. Three 'slamhound' fighter/bombers shot overhead, obviously making their sighting run before the bombing. "I don't care how it's done, let's just leave," said Megan urgently.

"Right," said Matt, "Spyro, pardon my French, BUT GET US THE %#$ OUTTA HERE!" Spyro jumped at that, surprised at the volume that Matt had managed before grabbing Matt and Chris, before letting Megan onto his back. Matt, catching on began to say "Don't you dare do th..." before Spyro took off.

"Uh, Spyro, you do know where there's an opening, right?" said Chris.

Spyro carefully flew through the hole he'd made and out into the night sky. A second later, a few fireball spells hit from the ground.

"Spyro, not that I'm unappreciative, but you might wanna speed up cause I don't think we're out of blast range yet," said Matt. The three jets had already span round and were heading back. "FASTER...MUST GO FASTER!" yelled Matt, panicking.

Meanwhile, Ghoulwyrm was charging towards the hole Spyro made, intent on flying out and capturing those miserable mortals.

He stopped as he saw what looked like three birds heading for the castle, travelling impossibly fast. "What in the name of..." he began. Suddenly, the 'birds' seemed to let loose fiery eggs that were heading straight for Ghoulwyrm's castle. Ghoulwyrm's last vision for a good few hours were one of the 'eggs' demolishing his rune protected walls like they were matchwood before another hit his tower.

...

With the destruction of the castle, all the zombies, werewolves, and gargoyles seemed to have disappeared. As such, the Hell's Half-Mile area was scaled down in terms of dangerousness and thus required far less troops.

Spyro was settled down in one of the base's tents, the snow outside gently falling.

Chris rubbed his hands and said, "Pretty cold out here. You could get frostbite."

"Matt would be happy about that," said Spyro.

"I dunno...he seemed in a better mood once the medics finished treating him for shellshock. You coulda warned him you were gonna drop him into a snow drift," said Chris, scolding Spyro, but smirking as he did.

"Well, you humans are so vulnerable to heat that I thought Matt would need cooling off," said Spyro.

Chris chuckled, "It was worth it to see his face..."

The chuckling stopped when the pair saw the subject of their conversation heading for their tent with a disturbingly broad grin on his face.

"Erm...you ok, Lynch?" said Chris carefully.

Matt span his head to stare. "PERFECTLY...fine...yes...perfectly fine...I only had my sanity pushed to breaking point, attacked by undead trees and dropped into a snow drift by dragon boy over there," he said in a worryingly calm voice.

"Uh, I am sorry about that," said Spyro.

"Yes...probably...but you aren't staying here. I'm going to keep an EYE on you," said Matt, his eye twitching worryingly.

"You're...not leaving me to guard this place?" asked Spyro.

"Nope...you're coming back to New Moscow...IN IRONS IF I HAVE TOO!" said Matt, screaming the last part in a manic way before walking off in a stiff way.

Chris and Spyro exchanged a nervous look. "Uh, is he ever like this?" asked Spyro.

"Only once...but that was...kinda unique... On the plus side, it's better than here," said Chris.

"Uh, sure," said Spyro, "How soon do you think we'll be leaving?"

"Probably soon, we'd better move out before he snaps and decides to leave you here," said Chris

"Right," said Spyro as they left the tent, "How's Megan doing?"

"She's...fine. She was nearly eaten by that thing. How would you be?" said Chris, gloomily.

"Well, I was nearly eaten a few times before," said Spyro, "But I don't think she's had as much experience with it."

"Who has? You usually only learn it once." said Chris

"Where is she anyways?" asked Spyro.

"Down in town, they want her to stay to 'train'," said Chris, even gloomier.

"Train with what?" asked Spyro.

"Her powers...apparently she is the only one who can make sure that draco thing will stay dead," said Chris

"I know how that feels," said Spyro.

"I guess you would...nobody's that good," said Chris, knowingly, adding, "You should see some of the liz...dragons at New Moscow. They have to be so careful."

"Well, I need to see more of that city," said Spyro.

"I'd be careful, we recently had some trouble with a real asshole..." said Chris before there was a yell of 'WHAT?' in Matt's voice.

"I wasn't talking about you," said Chris, looking back over his shoulder.

He turned to see Matt glaring at Megan who looked smug. "These are military transport units, not moving vans!" snapped Matt.

"The mayor said I had to take all this stuff if I wanna stop that creep and be at full power," said Megan smugly, pointing to a truck of packages and strange devices.

Matt said darkly, "We blew him into fish chum, he is not coming back."

"Didn't you say that he also didn't exist in the first place?" said Megan smugly.

"Don't be a smartass or I'll lock you in the Fort Levski brig," said Matt, annoyed.

"I'd like to see you try and keep me in there," said Megan.

"I kept you locked up pretty well in America," said Matt, now just as smug.

"I was caught offguard," said Megan.

There was a click and Megan looked down to see Matt had handcuffed her. "Like now?" said Matt, grinning.

Megan glared and said, "Cheater."

"All's fair in love and war..." said Matt, smirking

Spyro looked at Chris and said, "Are those two always like that?"

"You should see what happens when you throw Striker into the mix," said Chris.

"Who's Striker?" said Spyro, confused.

Chris grinned, "You'll see."

...

Slowly, Ghoulwyrm was starting to wake up. As he did so, he was aware of a dull ache between his eyes...and the tip of his tail.

"Uuuurrrgh...what hit me?" he managed.

"A megaton of bomb strikes," said a deep voice, "Those humans are a zealous lot."

"Uuurgh...that's the last time I presume a human's mad," said Ghoulwyrm before finally opening his eyes to see a huge purple dragon, much larger then spyro had been, flanked by two others in full plate armour.

"Yes, the humans can be quite unpredictable," said the purple dragon, "Which is why we need to enlist all the power we can."

"Why did you save me? I think it's proof my magic is a relic when humans can make their own with science," said Ghoulwyrm bitterly

"The humans' science may be advanced, but magic is still powerful," said the purple dragon, "I need strong spellcasters on my side and you will be perfect, as soon as you've caught up with the last few centuries."

"Hmph...and what do I get from this...alliance?" said Ghoulwyrm sulkily.

"A seat of power in the new world order," said Malefor, "How does Archduke of Eastern Europe sound?"

Ghoulwyrm smirked, half rotted gums visible. "I like it. It has a nice ring to it. I also want the Roph girl...alive," he said.

"You might want to be a bit more specific," said Malefor.

"The six-eyed one," said Ghoulwyrm.

"Oh...her...I have my own grievances with her," said Malefor, remembering how she had snatched the Vulture brigade commander away.

"Her family tends to be abominably-irksome interlopers," said Ghoulwyrm.

"Well...keep your end of the bargain...and you can do what you want with her," said Malefor, coldly.

"As soon as I am able, Lord Malefor," said Ghoulwyrm.

Malefor's amber eyes narrowed before he said, "You had better...I don't tolerate failure." before he left.

As soon as Malefor left, Ghoulwyrm scowled and said, "Such arrogance. I can already tell that working with him will be like being a vice."

He was still grumbling as two rats turned into his imps, the two of them holding a stone tablet with 'get well, evil overlord' on it. "Erm...hey boss," said one.

Ghoulwyrm glared at them and said, "Do I look like I'm in a good mood?" Considering he was currently strapped to a slab and not completely assembled, it was a pretty safe bet to assume the answer was 'no'.

One of the imps said, "It can't be all bad, sir. You just need to pull yourself together and anyways, you got a great new job with that Malefor guy, right?"

As in pieces as Ghoulwyrm currently was, he was still strong enough to blast the imps with his fire breath and reduce the get-well tablet to a pile of ash. "I have no intention of being in Malefor's service indefinitely," snapped Ghoulwyrm.

The intact imp said, "Hey...you mean you're gonna quit?"

"No, you fools, I'll be taking over," said Ghoulwyrm, "This Malefor may think he has everything under control, but I shall eventually be sitting on his throne with a little backstabbing and undermining."

"Erm...not to be a fly in the ointment, but back when you were...alive, you tended to rant how the purple dragons kicked you outta your hometown or something," said the first imp before a fire blast hit it in the face.

"That...was when I was young and inexperienced," said Ghoulwyrm, "But this time, I shall be working far more subtlety. We have much to accomplish while we wait for the right moment. Take note of this."

"Erm...ok...bad news though...the castle's toast," said the second imp.

Ghoulwyrm growled and said, "Then we shall have to establish a new base of command, separate from Malefor's. We'll also have to have to rebuild our army, assist Malefor with those human armies so they'll be easier to conquer after we usurp him, and of course, find a means of usurping him."

The first imp said, "What about that Roph girl and her buddies?"

"Business before pleasure," said Ghoulwyrm, "But if enough time is available, we can focus on them for a bit."

The other imp said, "Man, we got alot to do: find a new place for a castle, trick that Malefor guy, beat both sides at the same time..."

"Yes, and it would much easier if you two dodos hadn't put that skull where it could fall and knock over the lantern," growled Ghoulwyrm.

"What skull?" said one of the imps, genuinely confused.

"You know, the skull you left on the rafters," growled Ghoulwyrm, "I can't believe even you would do something so foolish."

"We don't have a skull," said the second imp.

"Then where did it come from?" growled Ghoulwyrm.

…

Meanwhile, in Romania's brand new crater, the bombing run had reduced the castle and part of the mountain it was on to gravel. Nothing could have lived through it...almost nothing.

The rocks near the top of the pile moved a bit before they pushed out. The white blob crawled out of the hole and looked around. "Oh, that was annoying, oh well," said the blob, an annoyed tone in its voice before it was cheerful again and set off down the hill.

**End of Chapter 12**

**Authors note: Readers of mine amd my co-authors stories saga stories, based on Cydra's account, might reqognise the white blob...if you guess who it was, you win an internet.  
**


	14. Chapter 13

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft.**

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra.**

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter**** 13**

'_I don't know why we should be working on this...well, all I can call it is a plague. Where our lord got the bacteria we are using for the basis, I do not know...other then it is not a terrestrial germ. Its structure suggests that it is primarily attuned to dragon physiology. Of course, our assignment is to essentially reverse this._

_Luckily this is a simple task, in fact, as of recording this log, I have already prepared several litres of the bio-weapon. I've seen what happened when my assistant was exposed...it was not pretty._

_I am starting to wonder if we're doing the right thing. Surely there is a better means to convert the rebels than biological warfare...gnnnh...however we must use whatever methods to make them see sense. For Our lord.'_

File recovered after Liberation of Copenhagen medical institute

...

A group of refugees has reached the wall that led into Alliance territory. It was hardly an unusual sight to see people trying to flee the Empire, but this was a slightly larger group than usual.

A trio stood out, one pale and sweaty. In fact, none of them looked well. "Look at these...traitors. Betraying the empire by fleeing to the false promises of the rebels," commented one, harshly. "They shall soon learn the price of disloyalty," said another.

The third one, who looked sicklier, said, "They have made a cure for us when we return, right?" "You question Lord Malefor's plan? We shall be heroes when we return. Soon the rebels will beg for forgiveness," said the second one, angrily.

The first traveler said to the other two, "Now remember, try not to show your sickness. We won't be able to do much if they quarantine us."

"Urgh...what was that crap? My skin feels like it's on fire," said the traveler who had moaned before.

"I said act like your healthy," snapped the first traveler, "Do you want to fail the mission before we've even started?"

"That's...urgh..." said the moaner weakly before managing to get up and festering to show that would hardly stand out.

"We'll have to move fast to get across with no one noticing," said the second. The trio vanished into the crowd, purposely bumping into as many as possible. After a minute, they were lost to any watchers.

...

There were medics and doctors back on Avalar, so Spyro wasn't unfamiliar with check-ups. However, the humans' methods seemed to be a bit more...intrusive.

Spyro yelped as one of the doctors took a loose scale off and put it on a test tube. "There we go. That's the last of the tests, Mr. Spyro," said the medic.

"It had better be," said Spyro, "I've had enough pinching for one day." "We can't be too careful. Last thing we need is a pneumonia outbreak," said the medic. "Isn't pneumonia a human disease?" asked Spyro.

"And alot of the dragons around here used to be human. Last month three of the civvie hatchlings caught a mutated form of the flu," said the medic, harshly. Spyro snorted and said, "Hatchlings have a weak immunity system. I don't think I'm as susceptible to your diseases."

"Ok, where you come from, do you have influenza? Bubonic? Flu? They are all viruses that are active again since the black months...and they could end you without these shots, Mr. Spyro," said the medic in a scolding tone.

"But must you use so many needles?" asked Spyro. "Yes...everyone gets them regardless," said the medic, closing his kit case. Spyro gave an annoyed growl before saying, "Is there anything else or can I go now?" "No, that's it. But if there is any side effects, if you feel a lack of appetite or sickness, you let a medical team member know," said the medic.

"Fine, fine," muttered Spyro. He didn't feel any of those right now. On the contrary, his appetite had been gnawing at his stomach for quite a while. The dragon walked out into the cloudy daylight of Moscow, trying to ignore the worried or angry looks from humans in the street. Spyro glanced up at the clouds and muttered, "Does the sun ever shine here?"

A female voice said, "It is winter, you know." Spyro turned to look at Kala. "It seems like it's always winter here," he said. Spyro turned to see a woman with red hair and green eyes. "It seems like it's always winter here," he said. "That's Russia for you...freezing cold," said the woman in a friendly tone of voice.

Spyro shivered and muttered, "I don't know how ice dragons can stand it." "I know...those blue guys are the only ones apparently happy here," said the woman, before saying, "My name's Kala. You must be Spyro."

"Gee, what gave me away?" said Spyro in a sarcastic tone. "I dunno...the fact you seem less like a dragon and more like a fish out of water?" said Kala with a grin. Spyro gave her an odd look and said, "Is that supposed to be a joke? I haven't heard you humans telling any joke that's not supposed to be insulting."

"Man, you should try to unwind," said Kala, still grinning.

Spyro sighed and said, "Yeah, I never thought I would miss Sparx so much. He always knew how to make me laugh." "Sparx?" said Kala, confused. "My adoptive brother," said Spyro, "He was annoying sometimes and quick to criticize, but you couldn't find a more reliable dragonfly anywhere." "Your parents adopted a dragonfly for a son?" asked Kala.

No, his parents adopted me," said Spyro. Kala shrugged. "I suppose it takes all sorts," she said to herself.

Spyro shivered as a chilly breeze brushed him. "Well, I better head back to my place," said Spyro, "It's not going to get any warmer."

Kala looked at the clouds, which were already dispensing snowflakes, before saying, "The dragon camp is on the other side of the city. It's warmer at our compound...come on." "Are you sure, I tend to take up a lot of space," said Spyro. Kala said happily, "Oh, don't worry, our clan's got a big place," adding mentally '...and it's not like we've got anything breakable.'

"Well, I can't stay for too long," said Spyro, "Just until the snow stops." "These storms can last hours," said Kala, grinning as a rather devious idea came to mind. "Then I hope you have plenty to eat," said Spyro, "Dragons have big appetites." "Oh, don't worry. I doubt the storm will last that long," said Kala, leading the way.

…

Along the way, Kala told Spyro about the history of the Fairgreen Clan; how they originally lived in Seattle before moving across the ocean to Russia. "It's colder here, but at least there are people we can depend upon," said Kala. "So Malefor kicked you out of your home?" said Spyro finally.

"Pretty much," said Kala, "Of course, living in a half-ruined city isn't exactly ideal. I'm trying to look on the bright side of things." The duo finally arrived at the compound gates, the guards giving Spyro a funny look before letting him and Kala through. "My place isn't far from here," said Kala, "I have one near the opening in case I have to go anywhere quick."

The duo walked around the corner to see another building with four more guards outside who all jumped at seeing Spyro. Spyro lifted an eyebrow and said, "You sure have a lot of security compared to the other houses." "Erm...yeah," said Kala, looking shifty.

One of the guards said, "Ma'am...I don't think that the..." "Oh, don't be silly," said Kala quickly, "There's nothing to worry about. Anyways, you don't want to keep us out in the cold, do you?"

The guard muttered something in Russian darkly before stepping aside, nodding to the others to do the same. Spyro was a bit suspicious as he walked in, especially when one guard chuckled and said, "Boy, this should be good." Kala opened the door and was tackled by a chittering Striker. Matt was behind the raptor, and was beginning to say "Hey, Kala, I've been looking at-" before he spotted Spyro and yelled, "WHAT'S HE DOING HERE?"

"Oh, I just wanted a little variety in here," said Kala, "Add some color, you know." Both Spyro and Matt said, "What's that supposed to mean?" "Well, Spyro here needed somewhere to wait out the storm," said Kala, "His place was too far, so I thought we could have a nice fireside chat."

Matt glared before saying, "Fine," darkly. "Ok, you guys get comfortable while I get some hot cocoa," said Kala before walking out of the room.

Matt sat down, glaring at Spyro while Striker just stared between the two in a confused way. Spyro also sat, feeling rather awkward. No one spoke for a while, the air was tense with some foreboding.

Eventually, Spyro cleared his throat and said, "So...you and Kala, are you...mates?" Matt looked surprised at that. "What? Me and...No...I barely know her," he said, stammering a bit. "Oh, well, I assumed that, well, you were at her home," said Spyro. "She's the best medic we have. I need her to take a look at...why am I telling you this? Keep your snout out," said Matt.

"Uh, sure," said Spyro, "I suppose you'll want to keep it private." Kala came back in at that saying, "Oh come on...what could be dangerous?" Matt cleared his throat and said, "Well, as leader, I need to keep a fair and equal opinion with everyone. I can't be playing favorites."

Spyro just snorted to himself. Matt spun to glare at him "I'm sorry...are you still here? You may have helped with that lich thing, but I definitely don't trust you with this yet." "I was invited here, you know," said Spyro. "That's right," said Kala, "And this isn't your office, this is my house. I'm the one who has the right to kick people out here."

"Good, kick him out," said Matt promptly. Kala glared at him and said, "That applies to you as well."

Matt glared before taking out a file. "Some Fairgreens are needed in New Tongusta...some kinda flu hitting them," he said coldly. "I've noticed that," said Kala, "Flu season seems to be worse in Russia."

"This one's worse. All you need to do is go down there and help," said Matt, passing the file over for Kala to read and completely ignoring Spyro. Kala opened the file and looked at its contents. After a few seconds, she said, "104 degrees? That's some fever."

"And it's spreading. The mayor had the sense to lock the town down but...well, we could be looking at a repeat of that jerk. None of the dragons are sick," said Matt. "From what I heard, diseases don't cross species very well," said Spyro, "I mean, you and the dinosaurs haven't shared any sicknesses, have you?"

"No...but the dragons have. Had scale rot yet?" said Matt. "No," said Spyro, "It's not very contagious, is it?" "You mainly get it through contact with another's salvia," said Kala. Spyro raised an eye ridge, saying skeptically, "How likely is that about to...ARGH!" yelling as Striker, who had been hypnotized by Spyro's whipping tail, pounced on it and introduced Mr. Tail to Mr. Mouth.

That appeared to cheer Matt up immensely, seeing how he was laughing so hard. Kala rolled her eyes and said, "Spyro, this is Matt's adoptive brother, Striker. He's smarter than he looks, but not any more civilized."

Striker finally let go of Spyro and said, "Hello...you taste weird." Spyro gave Striker an annoyed look and said, "I'm pretty sure you taste weird too, but I don't think I would want to try biting you." Striker stuck his forked tongue out and ran behind Matt who said to Kala, "Look...we have to be careful. A few of my staff wanna take no chances with this bug."

"Matt, it's not like it's an airborne virus," said Kala, "I know how to keep a quarantine."

"Have you checked the latest supply convoy?" asked Kala, "That's a probable way it got in." "All the food's clean," said Matt, annoyed, adding, "It's not like there's much to go around." "Maybe it's something in the water," suggested Spyro. "One of the things we do have: clean water. Look...actually, I do have a job for you, Spyro. Most of the dragons seem to respect you, so you're going with Kala to make sure the dragon population there don't freak out," said Matt.

Spyro shrugged and said, "That's fine with me. So, where is the quarantine area?" "Up near the border security wall." said Matt "Why is everything always near the border?" asked Spyro. "We have two countries worth of people in one country. We need to use all the space we can," said Matt darkly.

Kala sighed and said, "Just give me a minute to get my medical bag." She got up and started out of the room. "Striker, don't chomp on him again," she said as she left.

...

Spyro flew over the white landscape, giving Kala a ride. There had been no transports available due to a large buildup of Malefor's human militia along the security wall and all transports were needed to get troops where they were needed.

Unlike Matt's first ride on Spyro, Kala enjoyed hers. Of course, there were a couple of key factors: Kala was riding on top of Spyro instead of being carried, there was no dangerous threat chasing them, and the landing was a lot gentler.

The town could be seen in the distance with the huge security wall on the horizon. The main thing out of place was the dozens of army vehicles blocking the way in and the troopers in combat hazmat suits, one of which looking in their direction. "They do know we're coming, right?" asked Spyro.

Several troopers ran over as Spyro helped Kala down. "Halt, this town is under quaran...oh, Ma'am. The commander called ahead. This way and we will get you suited up," said their leader, his angry tone vanishing as he spotted Kala.

As Spyro and Kala walked along, Spyro said to her, "You seem to command a lot of respect."

"My clan and I used to live in a hospital. We're good doctors," said Kala. "Healers are important," said Spyro, "Especially during times of war."

Kala nodded, the two following the troopers to where the main camp had been set up. "The main lab is set up in the town PD's old forensics laboratory. It's the only clean facility we could commandeer," said a trooper.

"How advanced do the symptoms look?" asked Kala. "You should see for yourself." said the trooper, leading the way. Kala paused for a second and said, "Spyro, I just want to remind you, you'll have to be disinfected before you leave here." "But you said dragons can't get this sickness," said Spyro.

"Yes, but there's a chance the pathogen could cling to you and you could inadvertently spread it around," said Kala.

Spyro sighed as Kala climbed into a sealed trailer covered in a yellow symbol before she came out after a few minutes, wearing a full suit that had a glass visor. "What kind of armor is that?" asked Spyro. "It's a hazmat suit, makes sure I don't get sick," said Kala, her voice sounding distorted through the filter.

"Is it magic?" asked Spyro, who had never seen a HAZMAT suit before. "No, just hermetically sealed," said Kala, "as long as it's not ripped or torn." The duo walked into the town, Spyro spotting people peering out nervously from the buildings, even a few dragons also staring nervously. "Is it the sickness that's scaring them or me?" asked Spyro.

"Probably both...Malefor's not good press. A lot of the dragons here came here cause Malefor wants them dead as badly as the rest of us," said Kala. Spyro sighed and said, "I wish I could prove to them that I'm not like Malefor." Kala sighed. "You'll be surprised how fear makes people stupid," she said before they arrived at a building with more suited guards outside.

"Chief Medic, Kala Triseptimus," said Kala to the guards, "I'm here to look at the patients." "Ok, it's this way...is that with you?" said the guard, looking at Spyro. "Yes, he's with me," said Kala, "I want a second opinion and he might provide a necessary point of view." The guard looked like he didn't believe that before leading the way inside the building.

There were several beds inside, each holding a human. And judging by the hacking coughs and the general groaning, they were pretty sick. Several people in bio suits could be seen gong between the beds, though Spyro was puzzled to why there was also a couple of armed guards in there. "Just how bad is this sickness?" asked Spyro.

"So far we've had 12 cases but we suspect more. The Council's habit of making us out to be barbarians hasn't encouraged people to being their infected forward," said the guard. "Council? Barbarians?" Spyro turned to Kala and said, "Is there something Matt hasn't told me?"

"I dunno...the Coalition had some kinda council. I met them once...assholes," said Kala a little bitterly. "I thought the humans all opposing Malefor were all part of the same group," said Spyro. "Nope, a mix and match, didn't you have clans at your home?" said Kala. "Sort of," said Spyro, "But we all banded together to fight Malefor."

Kala sighed. "I wish we could say the same thing," she said. Then one of the men in bio suits said, "Ma'am, I think I may have isolated the pathogen." Kala walked over, before looking over at Spyro. "Hey Spyro, go ask around the dragon refugees. See if any of them are sick," before she looked at a clipboard the bio-suited man passed her.

"Ok," said Spyro before walking towards the door. One of the guards stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, we need to sterilize you first. Don't want this bug spreading around." Spyro gulped at that as two of the guards pointed to a white room.

...

Spyro staggered out into the cloudy day, his scales feeling raw from the pressurized water blasts he'd been subjected too. "That...was the roughest bath I've ever had," said Spyro, wincing from his throbbing hide.

He looked up and down the street before spotting one of the dragons from earlier. He walked over to him and said, "Hi, how are you doing?" The dragon, barely a kid let out a squeak and shot off down an alley. Spyro blinked and said, "I couldn't have been that threatening."

He looked at the fleeing dragon before heading after him, catching sights of the little dragon in the maze of alley ways and wrecked buildings. "Come back, I just want to talk," he called. Spyro finally came to a stop to see the little dragon in a dead end, staring back steadily as Spyro came around the corner. "I don't mean you any harm," said Spyro, "I just want to ask you something."

He walked forward...and was pushed face down into the mud, a growling voice said, "Can't you leave us alone?" Spyro lifted his head and tried to shake the mud off. "Who's that?" he asked. "Why is the Brigade letting one of YOU run around? It's bad enough with Malefor without another," said the female voice.

"I am not Malefor," said Spyro, "I am nothing like him." The holder was silent for a minute before the pressure was released from Spyro's back and he scrambled up to see a lightning dragoness glaring at him. "Look, I'm not looking for any trouble," said Spyro, "I just have a few questions."

"I don't care. I only brought myself and my child here because Malefor wants me dead and my child for his 'brainwashing'. He took my husband, he will not take Sasha," said the dragoness furiously. "I'm not taking anyone anywhere," said Spyro, "I just wanted to know if you, he, or any of the other dragons have been catching this new sickness."

"The fireblood? No, only the humans are getting ill...violently ill. The ones in the police station are not the first. Many of the people here do not trust the Brigade. They've locked their loved ones in basements, in rooms, hoping they will get well by themselves," said the dragoness. "Why do you call it 'fireblood'?" asked Spyro.

"A few dragons did get some kind of illness in the capitol. Malefor had them locked up. Do you know the name?" said the dragoness. "Yeah, I think I had it once back on Avalar," said Spyro, "But it shouldn't be able to infect humans like this." The dragoness glared, "Avalar? Never heard of it."

"It's where we dragons originally came from," said Spyro, "But I can't imagine Malefor would bring any maladies with him." "You haven't seen how he treats us there. Unless you're a dragon, you're a slave...and even then only if you 'think like a dragon'," said the dragoness, practically spitting the words.

"And by 'think like a dragon', he prefers with only what he agrees with," said Spyro, "He doesn't seem to value free will that much." The dragoness nodded. "Like me and dear Sasha," she said sadly. "I have no intention of trying to force my will over anyone, human or dragon. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." Spyro paused before saying, "Where did I hear that before?"

The dragoness shrugged before a scream came from the door at the end of the alley. The dragoness looked in the direction of the scream and asked, "What was that?" "Nothing that Sasha should be near, I think," said Spyro, "You better get her out of here. I'll look into this."

The dragoness nodded before saying something to the young Sasha. It was just in time too as the door at the far end was flung open and a man, holding a bleeding shoulder ran out, screaming in terror. Spyro headed towards the open door, but he was cautious. It was not wise to charge into a fight without knowing what you were up against. A second later, what seemed like a human in a hooded overcoat lunged out at him, shrieking like some wounded animal.

Spyro jumped back and started hovering in the air. This creature may be human, so he couldn't attack it without getting in trouble. However, it was also clearly dangerous. Unfortunately his attacker didn't seem worried that Spyro could knock him into the next area code with a flick and swiped at Spyro's face.

Quite to Spyro's surprise, the nails on the attacker's hands left a few scratches. Spyro winced at that. It was no worse than being scratched by a cat, but his hide should be too tough for a human to leave a mark on. That was when he got a look at the hand, more precisely, the sea green scales and claws in view. Suddenly the snarls made alot more sense.

"This is trouble," said Spyro, "I better restrain him." He started breathing ice down at the attacker, hoping to partially encase it. The attacker screamed in anger at that, the hood falling away to reveal a reptilian muzzle.

"Ok, this is definitely trouble," said Spyro before breathing a more concentrated ice blast at the creature. The creature's shrieks of rage finally cut off as the ice went over its face, but it was obviously still alive judging from the furious gaze. Spyro looked at the thing then something occurred to him before he ran in the direction of the PD.

...

Kala was looking at a blood sample when she heard a commotion just outside. Kala sighed and said, "Can't I be allowed to work in peace?" Spyro finally pushed his way in. "You gotta tie these guys down. I know what this thing is," he said.

"Well, I'm open to suggestions," said Kala, "I can't seem to find this thing in any of the medical books."

"That's cause I don't think this thing exists here. It's a sickness from my world. We called it fireblood fever. I dunno how it jumped to your people..." said Spyro, gibbering a bit. He remembered when he'd read about the old germ in Warfang's library.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," said Kala, "I can't understand you when you're talking so fast."

"It...it was something Malefor apparently made when he was trying to destroy my world. It sends dragons mad...feral," Spyro said, slowing down a bit.

The medic next to Kala snorted and said, "Nonsense...have you any proof of this?" "One of the victims apparently just went feral," said Spyro, "I froze him in ice to keep him from rampaging."

The same man said, "I don't have time for this. Miss Triseptus, we have work to do." "Just a moment," said Kala, "We shouldn't turn away any possible leads." "You're buying into this?" said the man, coldly before sighing, "Fine...but if this is a wild goose chase, he leaves. The last thing we need is a walking biohazard." When the group arrived at the alley, Spyro said, "I left it over there. Hopefully it hasn't broken out yet."

…

The group turned the corner...to see an empty alley. Kala's associate almost exploded from anger. "You draw us away from urgent research for a PRANK?"

"What? No, it was right here," said Spyro, looking for any signs of the creature. But he couldn't even see any puddles of melted ice. "I know what I saw, I have witnesses," he said. "That is it. Miss, Triseptus, you can be sure that Commander Lynch will be getting a direct complaint from the Council over this. As for you, wyrm, if you are not sanitized and out the city by tonight, I will order my men to shoot you," said the man coldly.

"Look, I saw the creature run out that door after a soldier. It wounded his shoulder," said Spyro, pointing at that door that was open, "And in either case, you have to secure those plague victims because they'll end up going feral too." The man coldly said, "Get out of my town."

Kala sighed and said, "Spyro, I'll handle this. But I think you might need to give some space."

"No, he has caused us to waste valuable time. I will not have him wasting anymore. He will leave at once," said the man, darkly. Kala's eyes narrowed this time and looked at the man's nametag. "Listen, Mr. Dunkins...Mr. Spyro has a name and he is here for my protection. You will not address a member of the brigade that way," she said angrily.

Dunkins looked at Spyro and said, "I am sure you can afford better protection." "He stays, or I leave and you can handle this yourself," said Kala in a casual voice. Dunkins sighed and said, "Fine, but keep him away from my patients and samples. I don't want further contamination."

With that, Dunkins walked off. Spyro looked at Kala and said "I'm a member of the brigade now?" with an amused grin. "Until Matt argues against it," she said, "But I wouldn't boast around about that right now. Besides, we have bigger concerns. Where did that wounded soldier go?" "It was someone who lived here I think. I think he'd bitten someone..." said Spyro, sniffing around. "Two other people were here." he said puzzled.

"More witnesses, you think?" asked Kala. "No...I dunno. They went that way," said Spyro, looking up and down a side alley. As Kala and Spyro went down the alley, Kala asked, "Just how sensitive is your smelling anyways? I mean, are you like a bloodhound or something?"

"I never really thought about it," said Spyro honestly. "Well, maybe we should try and talk Matt into using a dragon team for tracking," said Kala, "That might improve human/dragon relationships." "Somehow I don't think Matt'll like that idea," said Spyro, despite everything, grinning as he imagined Matt's face when he heard such a suggestion.

"Matt's not as unreasonable as you think," said Kala, "Besides, he'll probably want a chance to keep some dragons out of his sight for a while." After some more walking, Spyro asked, "So, you and Matt...are you, what's that human term, 'seeing each other'?"

Kala walked into a lamppost from shock, the blow not enough to damage her suit. "What? Us...I...NONONONO!" she stammered. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend that much," said Spyro.

"No...it's ok," said Kala, smiling before there was a shriek up ahead and the hatchling from earlier, Sasha came tearing round the corner.

"Sasha, what is it?" asked Spyro. Sasha gibbered, pointing down at the corner before three feral infected ran round the corner, shrieking.

Spyro wasted no time and let loose a blast of super cold wind. Two of the infected jumped to the side, the middle one taking the blast in the chest. Kala, on the other hand, had some trouble defending herself. Sure, she can throw fire, but doing so would breach her suit and she definitely didn't want that happening now. Fortunately, she had a hand pistol in case of emergencies. Unfortunately, she hasn't practiced with it much. The first gunshot took out a window, the second didn't hit anything and the third scored an unfortunate hit on Spyro's tail.

Spyro gave a small yelp before turning and saying, "Watch where you're aiming." Kala gulped and tried to aim when one of the infected tackled her and actually spoke. "You rebel against an irresistible force," hissed the creature, "Lord Malefor shall prevail and all resistance will fall."

Kala's eyes narrowed and she pushed the gun into the creature's chest, firing. The small shower of blood coming out from the other side confirmed the effectiveness of the attack and the creature slumped over.

The other one fled, one of this hissing, "Malefor will prevail," before ducking down a sewer hatch.

Spyro looked down the sewer hatch and said, "This is bad news." Kala nodded and said, "Matt's not gonna like this."

...

Matt had worries of his own. One of the things Malefor had mastered was the power of the press, and unfortunately had access to the Coalition's old relays, allowing it to be broadcast anywhere...like Brigade territory. Normally, the stuff on the Empire channel was mostly propaganda, but this time, it was a live message from one of Malefor's top scientists.

"...and so far this virus has a 100 percent infection rate in humans. Luckily, our medical teams have discovered that the ascension system purges the virus from the infected subjects. However, we have it on good intelligence that the virus has spread into rebel territory," said the scientist on the screen, "Now, some of you may wonder about exactly where this plague may originate, but I assure that the cure is far more important than the disease. And of course, we're interested in keeping the mortality rate low..."

Chris said under his breath, "Here it comes." before the scientist said, "To that end, the 5th infantry have been dispatched to 5 miles from the rebellion's security wall and will offer this cure to any civilians wishing aid for their loved..." before the screen was turned off.

"I don't believe it," said Matt, "They're all but saying that they made this plague. And now they're 'offering' a 'cure' just so people won't die. What's next, a protection racket?" "We blanked it out here and in the main cities. But the border towns will have heard it loud and clear. We could be looking at a panic," said a Russian colonel in the corner of the room.

"We could be looking at a pandemic," said Techo, "There are more and more people exhibiting symptoms. I'm not sure if we'll be able to quarantine them all." "It's only in the border towns for now, but it could get worse, sir. We need to enforce a proper quarantine line; shoot to kill orders, blockades. If we do not stop it now…" said the Russian colonel, letting the sentence trail off.

"This isn't the Black Death," said Matt, "We have civil ways of keeping this under control. Besides, quarantine will only last so long. What we need is a cure." "Sir, my men cannot get through to Dunkins in the quarantine zone. The last report was...strange. He sounded half asleep," said the colonel, passing a file down.

"Then we need to reestablish communications," said Matt, "All of our intel about the plague is there, we can't afford to lose it." The colonel saluted and walked out, Matt adding to himself "...and Kala's there."

…

Meanwhile, Spyro and Kala were attempting to find Sasha's mother. Things were dangerous enough without risking the safety of the dragonling. "Spyro, was this fireblood fever this virulent on Avalar?" asked Kala.

Spyro shook his head. "No, you had to be bitten to be infected. This is crazy," he said. "What's really crazy is the mutation effect," said Kala, "I'm pretty sure the virus has been tailored." "How can you tell it wears clothes?" asked Spyro. "No, I mean someone's changed it, so it affects us...or it's airborne...or it's just faster at infection..." explained Kala, peering round a corner to make sure there was no surprises.

"But how can you alter something so small?" asked Spyro, "That's like trying to open a flea's mouth." "We're a creative race," said Kala, darkly. "Well, at least there's a cure for the fireblood fever," said Spyro, "At least back where I come from." "That's not much good then...out of interest, what was the cure?" said Kala, curiously.

"It was a really bitter tea," said Spyro, "I remembered that I had to have it forced down my throat. I just couldn't swallow it on my own." "Sounds herbal, you don't happen to know what was in it, do you?" said Kala with a sigh. "I remember one part had something to do with butterflies," said Spyro, "I'm not quite sure what it was."

"Crap, that could mean anything, don't you remember anything?" said Kala. Spyro paused before saying, "Wait, I remember, it was butterfly bush. And lemons, no lemongrass." "Butterfly bush...great...just great," said Kala, who had been hoping that Spyro would mention a plant she knew.

"No, wait, was it butterfly flower?" asked Spyro, "No, no, it was a flower that attracted lots of butterflies and bees. What was it called, fuchsia?" Kala stopped at that and said hopefully "Lavender?" "That's it," said Spyro, "I remember one that had a really spicy smell. It think it was a kind of pepper."

Kala was already thinking and said, "Jalapeno...anything else?" "Bitterroot, lots of bitterroot," said Spyro.

"That's probably to cover the taste. That can be fixed. This is brilliant. We just need to..." Kala began before the wall behind her seemed to explode out. Kala was sent flying forward and ended up rolling down a lot section of the street.

The dragoness from earlier was in the new hole, her eyes bloodshot with all the signs of fireblood, Spyro could see. "Mommy?" asked Sasha. "Sasha, stay back," said Spyro, "Your mother is sick right now."

Sasha's mother however had already turned at the sound, focusing on Sasha. She began to head towards the hatchling before she stopped, hearing a rhythmic bang coinciding with stinging sensations on her scales. Sasha's mother turned and snarled, looking for the offender.

Kala was backing up, firing the last of her rounds. "Uh oh," she said as Sasha's mother roared in her face before a blast of ice hit her back paws, freezing them to the asphalt

As Sasha's mother tried to free herself, Spyro ran over to Kala and said, "Kala, I can't take her down in front of her child. We have to trap her." Kala grabbed Sasha and ran for the cover of an abandoned shop.

Spyro turned to face her mother. "Listen, you don't have to do this. Do you really want Sasha see this? We can find a cure, but you have to calm down," he said. Sasha's mother just roared angrily. Spyro sighed and said, "Ok, reasoning's not going to work. Looks like it's the hard way now."

The dragoness lunged at Spyro who simply took to the air to dodge the clumsy lunge. Spyro landed behind her and span in time to tail whip her as she tried again. The dragoness snarled before charging again. This time, Spyro used his tail to send a trash can flying at her. It hit her and the impact emptied its contents all over her, making her now both angry and stinky.

Spyro watched as the dragoness shook herself like a dog to get rid of the trash sticking to her. "This is what fireblood does to a dragon? It's turned her into an animal," he said to himself. Then Spyro noticed some marks on her shoulder. They looked like claw marks. No, they're too precise. Those were made by fangs.

The dragoness turned, glaring at Spyro as her disease-addled mind sized Spyro up before she snorted, spread her wings and began to take off. Suddenly, a shot rang out and the dragoness roared as blood spurted from a fresh bullet wound in her wing.

Suddenly, Spyro heard an odd whistling noise. He looked up to see something small, dark, and fast hurtling through the air towards the dragoness. The dragoness had seen it too, turning to roar defiance at this intruder...before it hit her in the chest and blossomed into a fireball sending her spiraling out of the sky. A metallic bird shot by the stricken dragoness with a shriek before peeling off.

Spyro quickly ran over to the dragoness, hoping she was alright. The dragoness was slumped against what had been a shack until she'd landed on it, unconscious with a nasty wound in her side. The weapon had not managed a fatal blow but she was pretty badly hurt. To Spyro's fury, a few humans were cheering the departing metal bird.

"Well, at least you can stay out of trouble now," said Spyro. He found a broken-off piece of metal and managed to wrap it around the dragoness' muzzle. Not enough to keep her from breathing, but to make sure she won't snap at anyone when she wakes up.

The watching humans however didn't seem happy with that. A few of them had bloodshot eyes already. One more ran into view, yelling something about cornering a sympathizer. Spyro pushed the dragoness into what was left of the shack before placing a few trash cans in front of it. He glared at the humans and said, "Leave her be," before heading back to the shop where Kala was hiding.

He arrived to see more of the mob at an alley, two slumped from gunshot wounds. Kala could be seen with Sasha inside the alley, holding her now reloaded pistol threateningly. "Leave her alone," called Spyro, "She's the head medic, you idiots."

The group all turned to look at Spyro, their eyes indicating they were almost feral themselves. Spyro sighed and then roared as ferociously as he could at them, sending the mob scrambling away. Spyro walked over to Kala and said, "Sasha's mother is wounded, but she's still alive and won't be harming anyone soon. But we need to get her and Sasha into a safe place."

"We gotta get out of here. These idiots musta locked their families up...and now they're loose. The main lab will have a radio...and Dunkins must have noticed now. He'll be calling in backup," said Kala before looking at Sasha with a warm smile. "You want to come see New Moscow?" she said.

Sasha sniffled and said, "I want my mom." "Your mother will be coming too," said Spyro, "She's sick and it's making her cranky. And you don't want to get sick either so you can't see her right now." Sasha nodded sadly before following the duo,

...

Matt looked at the report. "WHO GAVE AUTHORIZATION FOR LETHAL FORCE?!" he yelled, throwing down the combat report from the fighters dispatched into the quarantine area. "Captain Volkov, apparently," said Chris, "Seems he's a bit overeager about 'protecting no matter the cost'."

"Captain...I like the sound of that demotion for him. Have we got anything else from the zone?" said Matt, thoughtfully. Techo shook his head, "It's bad. Whatever's happened is sending the infected psychotic. We've had 4 incidents already."

"At this rate, they'll be crashing through the quarantine by next sunset," said Sonya. Matt sighed. "It looks like Volkov may have a point. If they breach the quarantine...we're dead," he said before, after a pause adding, "Order the teams in the town out. After 12 hours...nothing leaves."

"You know it's going to be total pandemonium in there," said Chris. "Which is why we need to keep it in there and not spread out to out here," said Matt, "The research team's had enough time to get samples. They can make their cure where they won't be in danger of being torn limb from limb." Chris nodded, saying, "And what if they don't get out?" Matt didn't answer.

...

Spyro, Sasha and Kala arrived at the PD building to see the guards were missing, the floor slick with spent casings. "It looks like the patients wanted out bad," said Spyro.

The trio carefully walked in, red lights flashing, the bell for the alarm only not ringing cause it had broken years ago. Spyro stopped, spotting a pair of feet sticking out from a doorway. "Uh, I'm not sure Sasha will want to see this," said Spyro.

Kala nodded, distracting Sasha while Spyro went round the corner. The body of one of the guards greeted him, his air mask torn off and his throat torn out. His rifle was bent out of shape. "Kala, I think we should just grab what you need to make the cure and leave," said Spyro. The trio headed round to the makeshift laboratory located in the buildings old forensics lab. The door however was half open, all the previously occupied beds empty. "You think any of them stuck around?" asked Spyro.

"I'm hoping not," said Kala. A discarded radio buzzed before a voice said, "All medical and military units...fall back to Market road for immediate evac. Evac choppers will arrive in 1 hour, 25 minutes. Message will repeat."

Spyro sighed and said, "Well, at least we have plenty of time to get there, right?" Kala was looking at the only working computer, typing in the cure list and running a simulation against the cure. "Simulation failed...stabilizing enzyme missing," chimed the computer. "What does that mean?" asked Spyro.

"Means the cures incomplete," said Kala, gloomily before the sound of smashing came from the next room. "Uh, can we ponder over what could be the missing ingredient in a safer location?" asked Spyro.

Kala was looking at the door into the next room as a figure in what was left of a biosuit came into view.

"Is that Dunkins?" asked Spyro. 'Dunkins' lifted his head at that, causing Sasha to shriek and hide under a table. "What's left of him," said Kala, "We need to get moving, we're not safe here." Dunkins snarled and ran at the trio, only to be pinned by Spyro with ease. "Get Sasha out of here, I'll cover you from behind," said Spyro. Kala grabbed the Sasha, who was whimpered from a cut he'd gotten in the debris under the table and ran for it.

Spyro then blasted Dunkins with some fire breath. "I have to admit, that actually felt good," he said. The flames however didn't appear to have any effect except to damage Dunkins' suit. He struggled to get free till Spyro sighed and hit him across the head. Dunkins fell over in a dazed heap from that. "Actually, that felt even better," said Spyro.

He ran out after Kala and Sasha into the street to find that whatever was happening had deteriorated, the sound of weapon fire coming from the quarantine blockade. "How far is it to Market Road?" asked Spyro. "I dunno, I've never been here," said Kala, annoyed.

"Then how are we going to get to the evacuation area?" asked Spyro.

A chopper flew overhead, heading towards the more built up area of the town. "Follow that?" said Kala.

Spyro shrugged and said, "Fine with me. Do you think we can fly after it?" He stopped as a memory of the device that had swatted Sasha's mother from the sky came to mind. "On second thoughts..." he said.

"C'mon, we have to get on that chopper," said Kala before she started running after it.

...

The trio ran through the deserted town. It appeared that most of the infected had headed for the blockade. Kala however had noted that Sasha was starting to get a fever. Kala gulped. "We had alot of blood samples. I hope he's ok," she said.

"Well, we can't just leave him here with the other infected, right?" asked Spyro. "It could just be a cut," said Kala, as they headed to the building the chopper was headed for. "But open wounds are also suspect to infection, right?" said Spyro. "As you said, we can't leave him here," said Kala, opening the door and being kicked to the floor.

A pair of infected walked through the door, hissing nastily. "Going somewhere?" said one of the infected.

Spyro growled and said, "Get out of our way." "Not a chance, after the work we went to contaminating the well..." said the second one, before the other glared at him "So it was something in the water," said Spyro.

"Malefor will earn the gratitude of those he cures. But as for..." began the first infected, rambling before a blast of ice flash froze him. "You know, I don't think you know what real gratitude is if it went and hit you," said Spyro before send a sphere of earth energy at the other one.

Kala nodded. "Nice work. Maybe I will mention that dragon idea to Matt?" she said before Sasha, who had passed out on the way over, suddenly twitched. "Uh, Kala, I think we need to keep moving, quickly," said Spyro. Kala nodded, waving desperately to the chopper. However, the chopper kept going. "Uh, I think you need to do more to attract their attention than just waving," said Spyro.

Kala said angrily, "I don't have a flare gun, smartass." Then Spyro smirked and said, "But I am one." He pointed his head up and let out a fireball into the air. It was a weaker fireball, but it did show against the sky. The pilot also appeared to have seen it, turning the chopper slowly.

Kala gave a sigh of relief and said, "It's smooth sailing from here on out." There was a hiss from Sasha at that as she opened her eyes. "Uh, Kala, I think you want to put Sasha down," said Spyro. Kala looked down in time for Sasha to try to sink her teeth into Kala's arm. Kala gave a cry of pain as she tried to pull Sasha off. "Hey, let go of her!" shouted Spyro. Sasha just growled and closed her mouth tighter.

Spyro worked up a bit of electricity in his mouth, even weaker than the fireball. But it ought to be enough to stun Sasha. He spat it out and made a direct hit on the dragonling. Sasha shrieked as it hit her and let go before scampering for cover. Kala slumped down, clutching her arm in horror.

Spyro ran over to her and asked, "Kala, are you alright?" "Dammit..." said Kala, as two troopers in combat hazmat suits ran out, guns at the ready. "We gotta split. We saw a huge ass horde headed this way," said one of them.

"I can't go," said Kala. She held up her arm, the sleeve of her suit was torn apart and a lot of blood was showing. "I've been infected," she said, "If I go with you, this quarantine's been for nothing."

The two troopers looked at each other before looking at Spyro. "What? I didn't bite her," said Spyro, "If I did, would I just be standing here and not attacking?" "We have to go," said one of the troopers, desperately.

Kala held up a pack with her uninjured arm and said, "Here, this has everything I have on the plague and the cure. But we still need that missing ingredient." The trooper took it before the duo ran for the chopper. Spyro just stared. "I can't just leave you," he said.

"The infected won't attack one of their own," said Kala, "I'll hold on as long as I can, but you must get this to Matt. Finding the missing ingredient is our only hope. Even if I did have the time to figure it out, I'll go feral before we'll be able to make it."

Spyro sighed. "Just be safe," he said before spreading his wings and taking off after the chopper.

Kala watched them fly away and whispered, "Good luck." She then cringed as she felt the fever starting.

...

When Matt had heard what was happening in the quarantine area and what happened to Kala, he was...less than pleased to say the least. "Give me...one...good...reason to keep you breathing," said Matt, coldly.

"Matt, I protected her the best that I could," said Spyro, "I didn't expect Sasha to get infected. I was trying to help Kala." "You left her in that hellhole!" yelled Matt, angrily "I didn't want to either," said Spyro, "But she was right. If we brought her with us, she'll end up infecting more people."

Matt stopped. "YOU DO NOT LEAVE YOUR TEAM BEHIND!" he yelled. Spyro glared at Matt and said, "You think I don't know that? My mentor gave his life so that me and Cynder could get to Malefor. I would have gone back for him, I would have gone to the dark side to bring him back. But I had to move on respected his sacrifice. And I'm not going to just stand here and get yelled at if Kala's sacrifice is going to bring her back.

"What's important here is that if we want to save Kala, we need to put her research to use. Malefor's using a modified version of an illness from Avalar to create this plague. Apparently, the same cure would work, but it needs an extra ingredient and we need to find out what it is," said Spyro, "So we can either just stay here and point fingers or figure out the rest of the cure."

Matt glared angrily at that before sighing, "You're right..." "Uh, not to be a fly in the ointment, but how are we going to figure out that missing ingredient?" asked Techo, "Kala's our expert on medicine and stuff. I just do computers."

Matt said, "Well...this is a weird disease. Let's go to the local expert on weird."

...

Megan looked at Kala's notes with confusion. She turned to the others and said, "You expect me to make a miracle cure out of this?" One of the troopers said, "So? Vitches are cooking brews all ze time." "Aren't those brews for curses?" asked Megan.

"Megan, we've got a deadly plague to stop, you're our only hope for this," said Matt, "Just give it a shot at least." Megan said, "Fine...business before revenge," before walking over to an alchemy kit.

Spyro turned to Chris and asked, "You think she can figure it out?"

Chris shrugged and said, "Maybe she'll get beginner's luck." The room was shook as Megan set off a purple explosion in her face. Chris said, "Erm...third time's the charm?" "But she hasn't done the second time yet," said Spyro.

"It doesn't take a psychic to guess what will happen on the next try," said Chris before putting on a gas mask. It turned out the third time wasn't the charm. Still, it at least had the effect of putting Striker to sleep so Megan could really work. Matt, still wearing a mask, peered up from behind the couch, where he and Chris had taken cover after failure 2. "Is it safe this time?" he said.

"Ok, I think I might have it this time," said Megan.

Matt and Chris immediately ducked back down as Megan's words had been uttered almost every other time so far. However, after a few seconds, Matt asked, "Where's the kaboom? Shouldn't there be a magically-destructive kaboom?"

Megan glared. "Your confidence in me is astounding," she said in a subarctic voice "So, do you have the cure now?" asked Chris. "Yes...and no," said Megan. "What?" said Matt, his eyes narrowing, "You sedated Striker...nearly blew us to pieces...and that's just in the last 20 minutes...AND THAT'S THE BEST ANSWER?"

"Well, I decided to just brew the tea like Spyro originally said and just see what it would take to boost," said Megan, handling Matt a cup, "Here, try it." Matt looked at it before saying, "Chris, as your commanding officer, drink it." "Stuff that," said Chris, "I'm not your food taster. Get someone else to-"

Matt suddenly pointed down and yelled "ROACH!" He stomped on Chris's foot with great force. When Chris opened his mouth to yell, Matt poured the tea down his throat. Matt stood back to watch. "No offence Megan...but I trust you about as far as I can throw you., he said, innocently.

Chris gagged and clutched at his throat. His eyes rolled as a bit of foam appeared on his lips. Then he stopped and said, "That had the worst aftertaste I ever experienced." Matt looked at Megan, "Ok...what happens now? And what the hell was in that tea?" "Just the ingredients that Spyro said," said Megan, "Chris now has some resilience to infection, but this stuff still needs something to be a full cure."

Matt looked at the other sample of tea suspiciously before drinking it. "Yuck...tastes worse than ration packs. Any idea what the mystery ingredient is?" he said. "Well, my research tells me it's not a missing ingredient, it's a missing process," said Megan, "There's one step missing for it to work on this plague."

"Wait, this is from Spyro's planet. How the hell do you know then?" said Matt suddenly.

"I don't think you'd be able to understand alchemy," said Megan, "But it's kinda like reverse-engineering."

Matt glared and muttered, "Show off." Chris however said, "Ok...what's the process?" "Apparently, this stuff has to be brewed with 'the fires of convexity'," said Megan. "The what now?" said Matt.

Megan shrugged and said, "Beats me, but I think it means you have to cook it with third energy." "Great...doing the impossible," said Matt, sarcastically. "Well, there are still some third energy reactors, right?" asked Megan. "Not really. Most of them are in the waste areas...and the dead zones," said Matt.

Techo sighed and said, "I'll got start scanning for any usable sources," before walking out.

...

Twenty minutes later, Techo was still sitting in the computer lab and he was currently feeling a mixture of boredom and despair. He had been using the database to comb for any third energy reactors that would still be useable but each one was either destroyed or unrecoverable. "Stupid damn Eden industries and their shoddy reactors," said Techo angrily.

Techo decided to check one more time. He zoomed in on a part of Mongolia and began scanning. Eventually, he located the site of the reactor only for a notice to pop up that it was out of commission. "That's the fiftieth one," he snapped, "This is nothing but a wild goose chase. I mean, if we want one, we'll have to build one and I know how impossible that is."

"Warning...exterior data intrusion," chimed the computer calmly, several alerts appearing as the system ran virus scans on the intruder. Techo sighed and said, "I swear, if it's another ILOVECHEESE virus mail, I quit."

A single email appeared, flagged safe by Techo's multiple scanners. Techo looked to see who it was from, but it had no return address or signature. "Well, it couldn't be anything worse," he said before clicking on it:

"If you wish to find a way to stop this plague, you will need enough third energy to provide a cure for all the victims. But curing the plague won't be enough. You must stop it at its source or you will be fighting an endless battle. These coordinates will provide with both. I wish you luck."

Techo glared at the email before entering the coordinates. The scanner immediately zoomed in on Pripyat, near the old Chernobyl power plant. "Chernobyl? Get real, we need third energy radiation, not radiation-radiation," said Techo, "There's no third energy reactor there."

A Russian intelligence logo appeared at that, blacking out the screens with threats of arrest from the old government. "Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah," said Techo, "I don't take threats from people who don't exist anymore."

After a few minutes of hacking, a schematic of what was clearly the energy tower for a third energy reactor appeared. "They were building one?" asked Techo, "In the spot of a failed nuclear reactor, clever old dogs." Techo looked as several messages came up, including the Russian for 'stand-by' "Not 'were building', has built," said Techo, "There's a functional third energy reactor right in our territory."

He grinned as he sent an activate command only for an error to appear. Apparently it needed to be activated on site. "Seems simple," Techo said to himself. Then he gave a tired sigh and said, "And when is it ever really that simple?"

He typed in the second coordinates out of interest to find that they were the uplink for a Russian spy satellite in high Earth orbit. The scan immediately zoomed in on an old facility that should have been empty...not anymore if the dozens of human militia guards were any indication.

"Hmm...this is interesting," said Techo, "I wonder what they're working on." He zoomed in a little more, spotting the scientist from the empire news network broadcast from earlier as well as several bio suited scientists. "Oh, Matt is definitely gonna want to see this," said Techo.

**End of Chapter 13**


	15. Chapter 14

**The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft.**

**The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra.**

**Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum** **and is used with his permission**

**Third energy chronicles**

**Chapter 14**

_"...And continuing our top story. The virus that began in a settlement close to the security wall has apparently breached quarantine and has begun spreading to other settlements. Neither Vulture Brigade or Coalition leadership were available for comment but already more than 3000 civilians have fled towards empire territory after its promise of a cure."_

_For those of you who may not be fully aware, this virus, which primarily spreads through infected bites, starts out with extreme irritation in both the skin and behavior before eventually mutating humans into a reptilian form._

_"So far, more than 12,000 reported cases have been confirmed. However the main question being asked is, what are our so called protectors doing about it?"_

_Extract from Coalition News Network_

Matt had called up a meeting of his finest officers and soldiers. Somewhat against his better judgment, he called in Spyro too. "Ok, Techo says he's pinpointed a possible stopgap measure or maybe even a chance to get our hands on an untainted sample of the virus. Something we can make a cure off of," said Matt, all business before activating a viewscreen. It showed an airborne shot of the building Techo had spotted.

"Apparently, this is one of the facilities where they cook up this plague, possibly even the main facility," said Matt, "Which means once we bring that place down, the only virus that will be spreading is the stuff already out."

"So? A few Hailstorms will reduce that place to a crater," said an officer.

Techo added, "Yeah...and shoot that stuff into the jetstream and cause God knows how much mayhem. We also need a sample to test our cure on."

"Which brings us to the second topic of this meeting," said Matt, "The cure itself simple to manufacture except for one key process: a third energy source to heat it. Without it, it's just a bitter tea."

"The only reactor even marginally intact is the reactor at Chernobyl. We've lost 12 scout teams there in the past year alone and our intel indicates the Empire's lost 3 times as many," said the officer that had suggested the airstrike.

"Right, both of these missions are very risky. But what is most important is that we need to deal with the virus facility first," said Matt, "It's going to be mostly touch and go, but stopping the virus at its source will make it easier to treat afterwards."

"Which is why my division will handle it personally. Dragon boy, you're tagging along. I think it's about time I saw what you can do personally," he said, pointing at Spyro.

"Uh, I thought you already saw what I could do back at Romania," said Spyro.

"That was against people with swords and axes. Let's see how you do against guns," said Matt, getting up.

"I think that capturing a virus sample and then destroying the facility without the rest of the virus spreading is more important than dealing with guns," said Spyro.

"You don't understand, mate. There's at least an entire division guarding that place. Plus, intel says that Malefor sent the new apple of his command staff to guard it. They're afraid for some reason that we're gonna go visit with high explosives," said Techo with an amused grin.

"But it's like you said, if we explode it too much, the virus could spread everywhere," said Spyro.

"Hey, I may be a tech whizz, but if I'm shot, it becomes hard for me to break through a lock," said Techo.

"I hope there's a more stable plan than 'go in there and shoot everyone'," said Spyro.

"Yeah, we dunno much about this new dragoness that's being sent. But we have confirmed she's the one who breached the wall at Hell's Half-Mile. She's a pain in our ass and better off in lockup or dead," said Techo, now in a cold tone.

"Also, we have a more efficient method in mind for disabling this base than 'shooting everyone inside'," said Matt, "We will be planting detonation packs at key structural points throughout the facility. Once they go off, the building will collapse, which will put an end to the virus production without risk of spreading it out."

Spyro looked a little confused at that. Matt sighed, "We'll knock it down instead of blow it up. We might even get one of their eggheads."

"I don't suppose you have a map of the place to show where the detonation packs should be planted," said Chris.

Techo shrugged. "Easy, two at each corner and an incendiary in the labs and storage areas," he said.

"Sir, what about the Chernobyl reactor?" asked one of the other soldiers.

"We'll deal with that after the facility's kaput," said Matt, "But right now, our first move is to get in there with a minimal amount of commotion."

...

The guards at the facility gates looked at each other. They had been stationed here guarding Lord Malefor's scientists for days, overseeing the arrival of test 'volunteers', arresting civilian humans who got too close. What made them nervous was the Vulture Brigade security wall on the distant horizon.

"I swear, they're just waiting for the right moment to drop on us," said one of the guards.

"Oh come on, it's at least 50 miles away. Plus, they have that plague. It's been all over the news," said the other calmly.

"Doesn't mean they won't be plotting revenge," said the guard.

"Oh please. They're on the ropes. If they could take us, they wouldn't be cowering behind their little wall," said the second guard again before stopping. "Hey...I thought I saw a glint...over in the trees," he said, curious.

The first guard quickly pointed his gun in that direction. "I told you they'll be coming after us," he said.

"Oh please, it could be anyth-ack," said the calm guard before a bullet hit him in the neck, throwing him back. The first guard looked around before the sniper hit him in the chest. As everything began to go black, he saw a row of woodland camo fatigued troopers wearing hazmat gear heading out of the trees.

...

Spyro was somewhat impressed by the weapons, but that didn't mean he liked it. "I find it hard that you can just end another person's life like that," he said.

"These guy'll have no trouble returning the favour," said Matt, walking forward as Techo hacked the gate.

"Yeah, there's no negotiating with these people," said Techo.

"Tiger Unit, you are cleared to begin diversion at east side," said Matt into his radio. A garbled response was heard before several explosions were heard on the far side of the facility as Tiger Squad's tanks began to pound the nearby troop quarters.

"I thought we were trying to avoid big explosions," said Spyro.

"Of course, to essential areas," said Matt, "That is a diversion tactic." The gate opened a crack and Matt peered through to see the guards that had been on sentry in the yard beyond running in the direction of the attack. "Ok...let's move," said Matt, before the group opened the gate and opened fire on the few remaining guards before they could react. "Alright, let's find our cold," said Matt.

...

The scientists working in the lab were surprised when, instead of the usual guards arriving, a dozen heavily armed hazmat troopers ran in aiming at them.

"Gentlemen, this lab is under new management," said Matt, "I suggest you take five from anything you're working on." The other scientists, not really trained for combat, didn't put any other opinions forward. "Ok, where's your pet cold? I'd like a vial to go, then you can all run away," said Matt, jovially.

"It's of no use to you," said one scientist, "You don't have the intelligence to devise a cure."

Mat turned, aiming his AK at the scientist. "Sorry...did you say anything?" he said.

"Er...it's in the white cases," said the scientist.

Matt nodded to a trooper who opened the case briefly before closing it again and nodding. Another was setting up a case of his own, which contained two large containers. Matt turned back to the scientists, "You may now run." The scientists didn't need any more encouragement and started running for the door.

Chris, his voice distorted behind a mask, said, "Ok...this was too easy...much too easy."

"You're right," said Matt, "Which probably means the real trouble is just around the corner."

Matt's radio buzzed at that. "Incoming...we got incoming. It's that damn drago-bzzzt…" began a voice, cut off suddenly.

"Yep, trouble's coming," said Matt, "Get those charges planted and let's get out of here."

...

Spyro watched as Matt's team ran into the building, a few gunshots heard as they did whatever they were supposed to. The fighting on the far side of the compound appeared to be dying down. Still, Spyro had an uneasy feeling, like something really bad was about to happen.

A roar from the far side of the compound followed by the sound of tank fire got his attention. "That roar," muttered Spyro, "I know that roar." He took off to fly over the building and was forced to fake to the right when a burning tank, its cannon barrel bent flew past to smash into the ground behind him. "It couldn't be," said Spyro, "It can't be possible."

He cleared the top of the building, silently hoping it wasn't what he thought it was before his heart sank like a stone as he spotted a black dragoness tearing into the tank's beyond. "Cynder? But how can this..." he started before his face darkened, "Malefor..."

It was indeed Cynder...as Spyro had first met her. She obviously had been given back her old skill judging from the way she was tearing into the rebels. A large part of Spyro told him to go over to her and try to snap her back to her senses. But something also told him now was not the best time. Unfortunately this was spoiled as Cynder turned her head in his direction.

"Uh oh," muttered Spyro before ducking out of sight behind a building. A second after he ducked down, a black fireball skimmed over the edge of the building. "The others won't stand a chance against her," muttered Spyro, "We have to get out of here now."

"Get back here!" roared Cynder's voice, prompting Spyro to take off and fly as fast as he could. However, Cynder was as fast as Spyro remembered and was able to weave through the buildings with ease, or blast a couple rooftops and walls that were in her way.

Spyro found himself headed for the security wall in the distance. He turned his head and called, "Cynder, it's me! You gotta snap out of it." Cynder only responded with a roar and another dark fireball. "Ok, that isn't good. She's like when I first met her," he said to himself after he had rolled to avoid the attack. He tried to think back to anything that could help him right now.

"Get back here, rebel!" roared Cynder angrily, her wingbeats slowly bringing her closer to Spyro.

Spyro looked at the wall up ahead and got a bit of an idea. _'I hope they have proper defences,'_ thought Spyro before making a dash towards the wall. As he flew forward he could see the tops of several of the towers on the wall opening up like flowers, boxes folding out from the top and rotating to follow Cynder. "Sorry about this!" called Spyro.

Cynder, having heard the words, cocked her head in confusion before two missiles hit her in the chest. Her dark magic prevented a fatal injury but she quickly stopped to dodge several more. She growled, looking down as more SAM launchers folded out to take aim at this intruder into their electronic territory. "This isn't over, rebel!" she spat before turning tail.

Spyro briefly alighted on one part of the wall. "No, it isn't," he said quietly. But he still had other concerns, namely Matt's group back at the facility.

...

Matt blindfired out of the door, gunning down a militia trooper. Reinforcements had arrived just as Matt and his team had run out to see Spyro, pursued by a dragoness flying towards the security wall. "Let's blow this joint," said Matt.

On cue a wheeled APC rolled into view, turning its gun on the doorway as more militia jumped out. "Oh yeah? You first," said Techo sarcastically.

Matt swore and muttered, "How long does it take to shake off a dragoness? He should be back here by now."

On cue a blast of what looked like steam hit the APC, before revealing the turret was encased in ice. The militia made a fatal mistake in moving their aim skywards. The others made good use of this by firing while their attention was pointed upwards.

The militia didn't stand a chance between the two groups. Matt ran out to see Spyro landing. "What the hell was that? Leaving us to face the music?" he yelled angrily.

"I am not your guardian," snapped Spyro, "You can more than take care of yourselves. Besides, I have bigger concerns than watching your back."

Matt wasn't having any of it. "That's your excuse? Bullshit. You wander off during an operation with some girlfriend and I'll shoot you myself!" yelled Matt before taking a step back when Spyro's expression darkened.

"Cynder means more to me than you think. More to me than I think you're capable of comprehending. I may be on your side, but I am not your dog to follow your orders. And if you, or anyone you command, shoots Cynder down, than I will burn you myself," said Spyro darkly.

Matt and Spyro just glared, ignoring the clacks as Matt's squad aimed in defence. "Fine... This isn't over. We talk later about this," he said quiet enough for only Spyro to hear before saying out loud, "Let's go before more militia arrive."

"Shall we detonate the packs?" asked Techo.

"Burn it," said Matt coldly.

Techo nodded before punching in a command to his detonator. "I know this is supposed to bury the virus, but there's a small chance a trace amount could be in the dust," he said, "Either way, we probably want to be a good distance from this place."

Matt nodded before yelling, "Let's go, gentlemen."

The troop quickly left the facility. About one minute later, the windows of the building blew out before it started collapsing.

...

The virus case was given the same care as if it had been full of eggs. Nobody wanted to break it open before it was at the clean lab at the local hospital. Matt watched as it was loaded into a jeep and driven off with escort before turning on Spyro, "Ok...talk...who the hell is Cynder?"

"Cynder...was, is, my closest companion," said Spyro, "Even closer than Sparx was."

Matt stopped, realising his little tirade at Spyro back at the facility had been a little closer to home then intended. "I...see," he said.

"Malefor had taken her before she was hatched. Well, his minions, anyways. Malefor was still...trapped at that point," said Spyro, "Anyways, she was artificially matured and then made into Malefor's general. I fought with her before I managed to break her free and make her proper self. After that, she's been...invaluable to me."

Matt nodded. "I see..." he said again, "I think I get the situation. You arrived together."

"Yes, but Malefor has recaptured her," said Spyro, "It wasn't easy to free her the first time, but I will see that happen."

"I'll issue capture orders to the border once this is over, but I doubt she'll come quietly," said Matt, a little cautiously

"No, she won't," said Spyro, "Anyways, our current situation's not half-over yet. We still need that convexity heater."

Matt nodded. "There's a team leaving in 20 minutes. You don't have to come on this one. Chernobyl...isn't a nice place. It wasn't even before the Third Energy disaster," he said.

"I read one of your files about it," said Spyro, "Some disaster involving 'new-clear' energy?"

"The city's a ghost town. We've had dozens of teams vanish there," said Matt, walking down the street.

"Do we know what's making them disappear?" asked Spyro, walking alongside him.

"No...it could be anything," said Matt.

"In that case, you probably do need me," said Spyro, "Especially if it's the same kind of 'unknown' that you didn't know about in Romania."

"You're never gonna let that go," said Matt to himself, rolling his eyes.

"It seems to be the only way to get some respect from you," said Spyro.

Matt rolled his eyes again.

...

Spyro's tone changed when he saw first saw the ghostly ruins of Pripyat on the horizon. The city looked almost intact, it if a little overgrown from the sky. The illusion changed when he landed and saw the deserted streets, the items that had been left behind in the evacuation...the areas marked with warning symbols and the looming shape of the Number 3 reactor. Spyro sniffed the air. The whole city smelled of ashes, but not the kind you'd find from burning wood.

He looked around to see the tank rolling off the cargo chopper followed by the troopers in camouflage-style radiation suits. "Ok...keep the Geiger counters going. There's a reason the Russians used robots to build the Third Energy reactor here. This place is still hot in some areas," said Matt through his mask.

"Still feels cold to me," said Spyro.

"Radiation, man. You wanna glow in the dark, fine by me. Easier to see your scaly ass," said Wilson through his mask.

"So, would this generator be over there?" asked Spyro, pointing towards where there was a funnel-shaped tower.

"No, that's the original nuclear plant. I dunno how long dragons can handle radiation but I doubt you'd live long around there," said Wilson before pointing towards a much more modern-looking set of buildings, a half smashed dome in view near it.

"How's the TE readings?" asked Matt.

"Hmm...nah, this can't be right. I told ya we shoulda had these checked. Readings are zero. Area's clean," said Techo, annoyed as he shook his scanner.

"We're not just turning back without a proper look," said Matt, "Let's move forward."

A shriek came from one of the buildings. Matt shone a light to see a grey skinned...thing with fangs and claws wearing the remains of a militia uniform before it ducked out of sight. _'Least we know where the teams went,'_ he thought.

Spyro looked at where the creature went. "What was that?" he asked.

"You've seen Megan, right? Compared to those guys, she's a minor case," said Techo.

Spyro let his imagination drift a bit before asking, "So...how many of those...things are there here?"

"I dunno, you wanna ask them?" said Matt, a little sarcastically.

Spyro just tried to clear his head and said, "So where is this reactor hidden?"

Matt pointed toward the dome. "That's what's left of it...probably weather. Hopefully the reactor itself is still capable of running," he said.

"And how do you plan to move it?" asked Spyro.

"There's a cargo chopper waiting for the signal. Hopefully that can move it. If not, we'll have to produce the remedy here," said Techo, peering around

Spyro glanced around and said, "I hope we can move it. This place doesn't seem to be easily defendable."

"Me too...this doesn't feel right. We sent 6 teams here. There should be at least wreckage," said Matt, worried

"So, if there is something here, it must be intelligent," said Spryo, "And I'm not sure if those...ghasts or whatever they are, have the right amount of intelligence."

"Good point. Guns loose, gents," said Techo

As the group approached the dome, Spyro looked around on the ground for any unusual tracks.

"See anything?" said Wilson, shining his light around to find a large rectangular scorch on the ground. "That's new...and tank sized," he said a little worried now as well

"Dragons can't produce enough fire to completely incinerate a tank," said Spyro, "At least not one dragon alone."

"Great...ferals," muttered Matt, "Let's just find the bloody thing."

The group turned the corner to see what looked like someone in one of the old Victorian era diving suits in the road leading to the power plant. "What the hell?" muttered Matt.

"Is that what you call a robot?" asked Spyro.

"No...we don't have bots that good," said Matt before climbing on the tank and taking the loudspeaker receiver from it. "Erm...hey there," he said, unsure how to talk to this person.

The being paused before shouting something that was unmistakably Russian. Matt glanced at Techo and asked, "Er, do you know what he just said?"

"Just a sec," said Techo before activating his wrist comp, "Er, well, the politest translation would be 'Get lost, this isn't your land'."

"Fine..." said Matt, climbing down from the tank. "I'm not in the mood. Roast him," he said, aiming the last part at the tank, which fired its flamethrower at the figure

After a bit, Matt signaled for the tank to stop. When the flames and smoke cleared, the figure was still standing there. With that the figure raised its hand, aiming at the tank before a blast of what was like multicoloured lightning struck the tank. When Matt's eyesight returned, the tank was gone...just a rectangular scorch in the ground. "Holy..." began Matt.

"That's Convexity energy," said Spyro, "I know that anywhere."

"That's bloody Third Energy..." swore Techo.

"Convexity, Third Energy, leprechaun rainbow power, I don't care what it is, JUST SHOOT IT!" shouted Matt.

The squad immediately began hosing the figure down with rifles, grenades, even a flamethrower one trooper had brought along.

The figure just kept walking forward as if it were no worse than a blizzard wind. Now that it was closer, they could see its details more clearly. First of all, it was taller than they thought, standing about eight feet high. The diving suit had also been heavily-reinforced with armored plates that had more than a few scorches on it, but not from the flamethrowers. Also, the various visors of its helmet had an unearthly glow coming through them. Then its hands started glowing brightly.

"COVER!" yelled Matt before another blast hit a trooper, the soldier's scream vanishing mid-way as his body disintegrated.

The soldiers didn't need telling twice and started running into any nearby buildings they could get into.

The giant just kept tossing bolts left and right before looking at Spyro who had encountered some trouble with the half collapsed doorways. A deep voice, thickly accented with Russian, came from the helmet, "A dragon, a very young dragon? What is it doing here and with these no-account raiders?"

"They're not raiders...I think," said Spyro, remembering Matt's weird habits.

"You're trespassing in my home," said the giant in the diving suit, "That makes you raiders in my book."

"We just need the reactor. There's an illness going on. Malefor let it loose," said Spyro, trying to reason with this thing.

"The reactor? That piece of junk's been offline for two months," said the giant.

The shooting stopped at that before Matt could be heard yelling, "You are fucking kidding me!"

"But...there was a source of Third Energy here," said Techo, "I mean, it's still right here on the scanner and-" He stopped when he looked at it again. "Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me."

The scanner's indicator was pointed directly at the newcomer. "HE'S the Third Energy source?" said Matt in shock, looking at the scanner.

"So this thing is a robot?" asked Spyro.

Matt slowly walked out cautiously. "I...dunno...erm...shut down?" he said.

"Well...at least it'll be a lot easier to transport it," said Chris.

Matt shrugged. "Ok bot boy...you're coming with..." he began before the 'bot' backhanded him flying.

"First of all, I am not a robot," said the figure in the diving suit.

"Fine...shoot him," said Matt, annoyed and furious over the men this thing had already killed. The giant seemed to glare before sending several blasts out at the group's guns. The guns corroded at an incredible speed before dissolving into rusty dust.

The group just stared in horror at that. "I do not take kindly to looters..." said the giant.

"Er, well, you can't have lived here that long," said Techo, "I mean, no one's been in Prypiat for years and, well... Where did you come from?"

"I was in charge of monitoring the reactor you are so interested in," said the giant coldly.

"Let me guess, history repeated itself?" asked Wilson.

"From what I heard on the radio, all the reactors joined mine," said the giant.

"Then how have you survived?" asked Techo, "Being that close to the reactor should have atomized you and there's nothing to eat or drink here."

"It did..." said the figure, lifting the visor on its suit. Instead of a face, any kind of face, a swirling mass of multi-colored energy was inside the helmet, with a pair of white glowing spots where the eyes should be. At the same time, the radiation level on Techo's scanner skyrocketed.

The group all jumped back at that, except for Spyro. "Lower that bloody thing!" yelled Techo.

The visor was closed and the deep Russian voice came from out of the diving helmet, "What I am now, I cannot say. But I know I am not a man. A man can eat, breathe, and show his bare skin to the outside world. I can do none of those. Whatever's left of me, whatever I've become, it is _хаос_."

"I'm guessing you're the reason for this area's 'Bermuda Triangle' approach to visitors," said Matt, coldly.

"_Da_, I have had enough of our so-called society," said the figure, "Empire, Coalition, whatever they want to call themselves, they're all barbarians."

"That 'Empire's' trying to send us all the way of the dinosaurs...wait a sec...that sounds wrong now," said Matt, remembering at the last minute that the saying 'way of the dinosaurs' didn't really apply anymore to its old meaning.

"Let them try," said the figure dismissively, "It's not like the vurld can get any vurse. The planet could probably use a new blank slate."

Matt thought to the weird readings constantly coming from the Canada dead zone for some reason at that before saying, "So...hurrying it along by killing my recon team?" and regretting it halfway through the sentence.

"Zat was not me!" snapped the figure, "I am no killer! It was the ghasts! I absorbed most of the radiation, but enough leaked away to create zem. I just cleaned up the messes zey leave. Just because I am living in ruins doesn't mean it has to look like a slaughterhouse."

"You coulda left their equipment. It's hard to make," said Matt sulkily.

"Vhat vould I vant vith half a dozen tanks?" asked the giant.

"Well...I woulda liked them back," said Matt, gloomily.

Techo pushed Matt aside before saying, "Look...we really need that reactor back online otherwise alot of people are dead or worse."

"Why don't we just take him?" asked Chris, "He's a mobile reactor."

The giant grabbed Chris by the front of his uniform and lifted him up very easily. "Which brings us back to number two," said the figure, "I am not leaving, not for anyone, not for any reason."

"Please put down Captain Anderson," sighed Matt, facepalming.

"Xaoc, listen to reason," said Spyro, "We didn't come here to antagonize you."

The being looked down at Spyro and asked, "Vhat did you call me?"

"Didn't you say 'all that I've become, all that it is left, is Xaoc'?" replied Spyro.

"Spyro has a point," said Techo before wilting under the giant's glare and saying, "Just saying..."

"Xaoc is not my real name, but it is an appropriate moniker," said the being, "But still, I see no reason why I should leave my home."

"Helping people who need your help?" suggested Spyro

Xaoc scoffed and said, "Like ze deserve it. If there were true justice in this world, the seas vould rise up and vipe the land clean again."

"Someone's in a goth mood," muttered Matt to himself.

"Humanity's been in a downward spiral since Vurld Var I and you know it," snapped Xaoc, "So you'll need a better reason than that for persuading me."

"Erm...tanks," said Wilson, the group looking apparently at Xaoc.

Xaoc snorted, "Hah, I thought I demonstrated how your tanks are useless."

Matt shook his head. "No...TANKS!" he said, pointing behind Xaoc. Xaoc looked over his shoulder to see some more tanks rolling in. And they were of a notably different design than what Matt's group had come in with. "SCATTER!" yelled Matt before the lead empire tanks coaxial gun opened fire at the group.

Several rounds bounced off of Xaoc, which didn't hurt him but did arouse his anger. "More intruders?" he snapped, tossing Chris aside, "Begone!" He fired bolts of energy at the tank. The tank, like the squads own tank earlier glowed before vanishing. However, the tank behind it fired its main gun, sending Xaoc flying through a wall.

"Er, orders, sir?" asked one of the soldiers.

"Xaoc may be a paranoid git, but we can't let him fall into Malefor's claws. I doubt he would even bother to talk sensibly with Xaoc. Not to mention he's the only source of Third Energy we know of that's useable."

One of the troopers, a Brit said, "Ok...whatta we gonna use? Harsh language?"

Matt thought for a moment before a horrible shrieking filled the air. "Hmm...think these ghasts are as bad as the ones in Seattle?"

Chris looked around at the sound before grinning, "I like the way you think."

"Uh, pardon for seeming negative, but neither of you seem like ghast trainers," said Spyro.

"Yeah? I think we have a volunteer..." said Techo, now at the end of his patience.

"Wait a minute," said Spyro, "I'm just pointing out that the ghasts are just as likely to attack us than them. And I don't think we brought any blood to toss at the Empire."

"These things love Third Energy. Grab some metal off the reactor dome and drop it in the middle of that Empire team," yelled Techo as another tank shell blew a hole in the wall.

"You sure that would work?" asked Spyro dubiously.

"It's either that or we start using your blood," said Matt, clearly not in the mood for deliberating.

Spyro stared before saying, "You wouldn't…" only for every trooper to pull out their choice of cutting implement.

"Ok, ok, I'm going," said Spyro, "Can't blame someone if they think they're being sent on a fool's errand."

Matt glared and said, "Get moving...or I practice knife throwing."

Spyro gave Matt an annoyed look before taking off, heading towards the ruined dome. The dragon flew out of the building the group were sheltering in and flapped towards the dome, the tanks ignoring him. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm better off on my own," muttered Spyro.

It was easy to spot the irradiated metal, it glowing faintly. Spyro hovered over the dome and said, "Ok, just need to make a quick tear. I don't know how much this will affect me, but I don't want to find out the hard way." He reached down to grab it and winced as the energy noticed his own source and tried to boost it. "Better make this quick," he said to himself.

He managed to lift up a medium-sized section and flew back towards the group, seeing to his horror that the militia seemed to have noticed the lack of return fire. With their guns reduced to iron dust, the Coalition troop didn't stand much of a chance and the Empire forces had them surrounded.

"Come out with your hands up, traitors!" yelled an Empire militia trooper.

Matt peered out. "Out of interest...what'll happen if we do?" he called out.

"A swift military trial, imprisonment and eventual execution for some, ascension for the rest, which will probably be less painful than what you'll be experiencing otherwise in the next...6 minutes."

"We'll pass, thanks," called Matt.

"Very well, you were given a fair chance," said the trooper. The tanks started rolling forward, cannons ready to fire.

Matt looked at the others. "Well...this sucks," he muttered before a clang made everyone jump as a large section of dome landed on the lead tank. The Empire soldiers looked at the chunk of metal for a minute, but when it was clearly not going to self-destruct, they kept pressing forwards. Matt shrugged. "Ok...was worth a-" he began before a ghast leapt from the floor above, landing on one of the militia. The troopers quickly shot at the creature, which was already tearing a soldier apart. Of course, its shrieks and the blood in the air caused even more shrieks to answer.

Matt looked at the others before slowly lowering himself out of sight as more ghasts appeared literally out of the woodwork. "Ok, I think those guys are sufficiently distracted," said Matt, "Now, what's say we take Mr. Reactor back home?" Techo nodded before getting on the radio.

"Suppose he objects to the move?" asked Chris.

"Well, if he's conscious, which I very much doubt, we can ask for his opinion," said Matt.

...

Xaoc groaned before shaking his head...and noticing that he was in an empty room. "Vhat is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

A voice said, "Ah...you're awake, Mr. Xaoc. You're in the New Moscow safe zone."

"You have kidnapped me? Do you have a death vish?" snapped Xaoc.

"No...you're going to save maybe millions of lives, Mr. Xaoc," said the voice before Matt's voice was heard "Oh...and we added a dampening generator we nicked off the empire last year...in case you get trigger happy."

"You have no right to take me from my home," said Xaoc, "I am not part of your infernal var."

"You killed 36 of my men...not including the 5 you killed when I visited you," said Matt harshly

"They attacked first. If you had not been shooting at me, I vould have not retaliated," said Xaoc.

"Well...think of this as redemption. You help us make this cure, you're free to go and I'll even declare Prypyat a no-go area," said Matt over the comm.

"Ha, like I could trust a vord you say," said Xaoc.

"I could say the same about you," said Matt over the intercom

"Anyvays, vhy vould you need my help?" asked Xaoc, "Do I look like a healer?"

"The cure needs an infusion of third energy radiation to work," explained Matt.

"Right," said Xaoc sarcastically, "And do you also need a pinch of pixie dust?"

A hatch opened, letting in a file folder and the other voice said, "That's the cure as is...and the proof."

Xaoc picked up the file and looked through its contents. "Feh, a virus turning people into giant lizards and a tea to turn them back to normal?" he scoffed, "This sounds like something from a bad fantasy story."

The door into the room opened and Matt, flanked by two troopers, came in. "We have 4 cases here already...come and see," he said coldly.

"Oh, this should be good," said Xaoc, "What wonders they can do with rubber and plastic."

...

Xaoc was silent, looking at the ward through the shatterproof glass. There were four beds in the room each with two doctors and 4 heavily armed soldiers to each bed. What caught Xaoc's attention were the...things strapped down on the beds. The creatures looked human, mostly. But they had large patches of scales growing on their skin, their fingers and toes had claws on them, two of them had sharp fangs and one of them was starting to grow a tail. One thing they had in common was the dripfeed of tranquillizer.

"We originally only had two patients. The other two are Orderly Anastasia and Dr. Molkov," said the doctor next to the gang.

Xaoc looked at them through the glass before saying, "This is rather elaborate. Perhaps too elaborate to fake."

"That's because it isn't, you talking firework!" yelled Matt, angrily.

Xaoc looked at Matt and said, "This disease may be real, but how do I know your intensions are also real? For all I know, you could have set this so that I may think I'm producing a cure, but it could be a veaponized fuel for new bombs."

"This virus is attuned to human DNA...so far we've seen no evidence it affects any other lifeform. Why would we make a weapon that only affects our own troops?" said the doctor wisely.

"I didn't say that," said Xaoc, "The Empire has a new bioweapon, yes. But you could be using that as an excuse to grab me. Vhat I think I could be heating may be the cure, but I vould bet that as soon as it's out of my sight, it'll be loaded into the varhead of some new missile."

"You complete paranoid NUTBALL!" yelled Matt.

"The teapot's calling the kettle black," said Xaoc dismissively, "You cannot trust anyone these days. And keeping out of Empire hands does not change a thing. I see no reason vhy I should think that you're telling me the whole truth."

Matt glared and was about to yell again when an alarm rang. "We have a breach at south gate...my god, there's a whole pack of them," said a panicking voice.

Matt sighed and said, "Great, just great, this just makes everything peachy." He pointed at Xaoc. "You...tin can...you stay here." said Matt before heading for the door.

"Like I have anyvhere else to go," said Xaoc.

Matt was halfway to the doo when he saw Xaoc following him anyway. "Ok...why? I don't want you anywhere near my men after Prypyat," he said.

"I vant to see if these creatures are really as wicious as you say they are," said Xaoc, "Four zonked-out specimens do not make a good reference guide."

...

The battle was more or less over when they arrived, several...remains of troopers scattered around along with dead infected. Hazmat-suited troopers were leading wounded to trucks, one crying at the thought of what lay in store. "One got through sir...wow...big," said the gate squad leader, looking up at Xaoc's helmet visor.

"Your bruises vill also be big if don't stop gawping," said Xaoc.

Matt glared at Xaoc before saying, "You can boss them around when it's your name on my door," before saying to the trooper, "Secure the gate and get teams on high alert."

"Right, but there's still the matter of the infected that got through," said the trooper, "A flamethrower, literally."

"A feral? Those things stick to the hills," said Matt, a little confused.

"Yeah, will this one seems to have a particularly focused mindset, if you can call it that," said the trooper.

"Define 'focused'," said Matt suspiciously.

"As in it seems to be set on heading in one particular direction, no matter what gets in its way," said the trooper.

"Where's it going, although I get the feeling I won't like the answer," muttered Matt.

"About here," said the soldier, pointing on a map before adding "And, if I had to guess, probably you specifically."

"So...it's gonna come..." said Matt gloomily.

"Right back here," said the trooper.

"Vhy not just shoot it and get it over vith?" said Xaoc, "Don't tell me you don't have good marksmen."

"It has an ID signal," said the trooper.

Matt had a really bad feeling about what the answer would be, but he still asked, "Who is it?"

"Miss Triseptus, sir." said the trooper, cringing as if expecting an outburst

Surprisingly, Matt didn't seem to get angry, rather he seemed forlorn. "I hoped it wouldn't come to this," he said quietly before saying to the soldier, "Nonlethal force, contain her and catch her if you can. We've had enough deaths for one day."

"Sir?" said the trooper only to be pushed back against a wall, Matt grabbing him round the collar with an almost red-eyed look.

"Did I not make myself clear?" he growled

"Sir, yes, sir," said the soldier, "Nonlethal force, catch, don't kill. I'll make sure everyone hears that."

Matt let the trooper go who scrambled to run to his remaining team. Xaoc had silently came up behind Matt, saying, "You know zis 'Trizeptus'?"

Matt gave the iron-plated figure an annoyed look and said, "I believe that falls into the category of 'mind your own beeswax'."

"I just thought you vished to know that somethink is vatching us from the vindow above you," said Xaoc casually.

"What?" asked Matt before looking up.

"No...I vouldn't move. It haz some impressive fangz," said Xaoc in the same casual tone.

Matt froze before saying, "Oh, I get it, you're trying to psyche me out." Matt at that walked towards Xaoc, intent of trying to punch the guy, even though it wouldn't work. A second later, he was knocked face first into the dust as something leapt onto his back.

"Tried to varn you," said Xaoc.

Matt struggled to turn to see his opponent before the life experiences he had picked up since the black months that had also kept him alive made him shove his elbow back sharply. There was a hiss and a considerable amount of pressure was lifted, allowing for Matt to crawl forward and turn around.

A female infected was doubled up in front of him from Matts elbow saying hello to its chest, wearing what was left of a hazmat suit. As Matt stared it recovered and hissed angrily at him

"Ooh, she's a feisty one," said Xaoc.

"Shut up!" yelled Matt before the infected tackled him down again, trying to get her teeth into his shoulder. Matt knew who this infected was, given that only one had got through.

"Oh, don't worry, she's probably trying to friendly," said Xaoc.

"I won't tell you again...shut the hell up!" yelled Matt, somehow managing to keep Kala's jaws from taking a chunk out of him. He noticed a glow at the back of her throat, muttered "Sorry about this…" and punched her face so it went to the side in time for the fireball she had readied to hit Xaoc.

Xaoc was knocked off his feet by the fireball, more out of surprising than anything else. His armor made a loud clang as it hit the floor. "HAH...KARMA!" yelled Matt, before going back to the problem at hand.

Xaoc sat back up and said, "I take she's a special friend of yours, eh?"

"Not...good...time…" strained Matt, slowly starting to lose the battle. "Help...you...canned...jerk!" said Matt desperately.

"You know, I hear females are supposed to extra fierce when they're seeking mates," said Xaoc, "Maybe all she wants is a kiss." Of course, his tone clearly stated he was not being serious.

"You...tincanned...ARSE!" yelled Matt before the little voice in his head said, _'Hey...worth a try, right? She's gonna eat your face either way.'_ He stared up the snarling face above him, clearly bent on rending his flesh. _'This has got to be the _craziest_ thing I've ever done,'_ he thought before he suddenly leaned up and smacked his lips against Kala's snout.

The reaction was impressive, the infected getting a bug eyed look of sheer 'WTF?'. Matt was surprised when it got up off him, shaking its head. Matt looked up the lizard woman and asked, not really expecting an answer, "Kala?"

The creature looked around and said in a slightly deeper version of Kala's voice, "Matt? Where...what's going on? uuuuh...uh..uh…" she said starting to stutter in terror when she saw the blood stains on her claws

"Kala, it's going to be alright," said Matt in his most reassuring tone, "We're going to get you cured."

"Whu...whu..." stuttered Kala, the bug-eyed look back, not noticing the troopers slowly walking out around her.

"Kala, it's going to be fine. You just need to relax and we'll take care of everything," said Matt.

Kala began to twitch before looking at Matt with the look of something seeing say...a sandwich and growling again. Luckily, the troopers all dogpiled her at that.

Matt got back onto his feet and said, "Ok, lock her up. Give her a tranquilizer drip and keep her calm."

"Yes, sir," said one of the troopers, holding Kala's arm down before another injected said arm. Kala snarled and snapped at them, but eventually, she became more lethargic.

"Get her into the ward with the others." said Matt before looking darkly at Xaoc.

"I can't believe you vould risk so much on such a tiny chance," said Xaoc.

"You suggested it, tin can," said Matt, sulkily.

"For it to have vorked, she must care for you wery, wery much," said Xaoc as he got back onto his feet.

"You gonna help us?" said Matt, getting back to the point at hand

Completely to Matt's surprise, Xaoc grabbed him in a huge hug. "Oh, how could I refuse such a request from someone as waliant as you?" said Xaoc in a teary voice, "Zere is so little love left in this vorld. I could not turn my back on somezing zis beautiful."

After a second Xaoc, not hearing a reply from Matt, looked down to see Matt's face turning a bit blue. "Oh, I am sorry, comrade," said Xaoc, putting Matt down, "I forgot my own strength sometimes."

"My...spiiiine…" rasped Matt from a boneless heap on the ground.

One of the soldiers walked over and said, "You refused to help us when it was obvious that we needed you, but you just melt over that little thing?"

Xaoc gave the solider an annoyed look and said, "You know I can melt your face easily."

"Behave, tin man," said Matt, getting up unsteadily.

"_Da_, comrade," said Xaoc, "Bring ze formula, I am ready to begin my vork."

...

Matt stood, gas mask on his face next to Kala's bed. The cure had acted on the physical alterations almost instantly though quite a few still burped up icicles and fireballs every now and then. "You sure, you're ok?" said Matt, concerned.

"I feel better than I've had in a long time," said Kala, though her voice sounded really raspy right now.

"Yes...erm...do you have any anger towards me? You tried to eat my face earlier," said Matt conversationally.

"Well...I'm not so sure if it's anger than frustration," said Kala.

"You tried to EAT ME!" said Matt, snapping a bit at the unwelcome memory of rows of fangs uncomfortably close to his throat.

"I'm not sure why," said Kala, "But, maybe I was trying to infect you."

"Hmm...ok...well, one good thing's come out of it. Word from across the wall says that Malefor's furious." said Matt, grinning.

"I bet he is," said Kala, "Having his best bioweapon completely neutralized and we've got our own third energy reactor."

"I don't think we should call Xaoc that," muttered Matt, before saying, "I'm also ordering the virus samples incinerated. I heard some of the fun ideas some of my staff had for repurposing."

Kala shuddered and said, "I'd rather stay warm-blooded."

...

That night, a figure walked out of the hospital calmly, his briefcase in hand before heading to a small alley and looking around, ducking in as a jeep drove by. Finally he turned to see the person he wanted to meet. "Finally...you know how hard it was to get this? The commanders ordered all the samples burnt."

"I'm not surprised," said the other person, "He keeps very inconvenient ethics." The figure opened the briefcase showing the contents. "Hmm...everything seems to be in order," said the other, taking the case.

The first figure said calmly, "Very well, now, about my-" he began before a silenced pistol shot him in the forehead.

The second figure's bodyguard lowered his pistol before saying, "Colonel...is it all in order?"

"Very neatly so," said the second figure, "He really did his work. Pity we couldn't let loose ends go, but that's war."

"We need to be careful, if the Coalition or Commander Lynch realise anything about this..." said the bodyguard.

"By the time they find out, it'll be far too late," said the colonel, "This war has been in their incompetent hands long enough. It's time we took matters into our control."

"Ok...the transport will arrive soon to move the materials, Colonel," said the bodyguard

"Good," said the colonel, "It's time you leave New Moscow."


	16. Chapter 15

The weapons in this were taken or were based off units from the game, Tom Clancy's Endwar and as such belongs to Ubisoft.

The individual chars however are property of me and Cydra.

Collins was originally the property of KnightCommander who helped me testrun this story when it was being test posted on a forum and is used with his permission

Third energy chronicles

**Chapter 15**

_Journal of Kala Triseptus..._

_It's good to be able to get some clean air now, especially since I don't have scales anymore. Now that the scalerot plague has completely expunged, the Coalition can focus on expanding territory and claiming resources. To that end, I'm moving the clan into the grasslands south of Moscow. With the food shortage getting worse, Matt agreed that we need farms sooner rather than later._

_Fortunately, the Greenpeace Clan is well-experienced with finding suitable farmlands. There are several differences from being in the outskirts of Seattle. For one thing, the area hasn't been very polluted from the war or the Third Energy radiation._

_However, so far, all we've found are acres of boulder filled fields or ground so cold that we'd need explosives to break the surface for planting. Still, the ancient nomads were able to farm the Asian steppes thousands of years ago. I'm certain that there is still some ideal farming land that can be found here._

_..._

_Day 3 of our search and we might be in luck. _

_Alice told me that she found evidence of recent crop rotation in the area. If we can find the farmer responsible, he might be able to point us to similar areas. We're in very remote territory now. This place probably hasn't seen any military activity from either side. Still, we should be careful. It's not improbable that the Empire forces are also looking for farmlands to exploit._

…

_Day 5 of our search. _

_The farm we found was deserted, signs of a struggle. However, there was no bodies and no sign of dragon fire so we cannot presume it was the Empire. Probably raiders. We found a journal that was written in recently, mentioning another farm in the area._

_The farm itself has been left mostly intact, asides from some impacts in the walls created by who-knows-what. This wasn't a raid, this was a conquest. Someone else wants this farm for their own. This kind of contest is hardly unusual, but who is who attacked this farm? The more worrying question is what was the target? Did these people come for the farm...or the farmers?_

_Either way, whoever attacked this place will definitely come back. Some of the team is advocating for an ambush. Some others say that we should track these 'raiders' to wherever they came from. I personally think we should move on for now. We are ill-equipped to deal with whoever did this._

…

_Day 7 of our search. _

_We have found another farm. And this one is definitely inhabited, judging by the active farm machines that can be seen from here. I get the feeling that some of the others would prefer to 'commandeer' this farm at this point. But Greenpeace are survivalists, not scavengers. However, we will be stopping at this farm, if only to warn them about the raiders..._

...

Matt looked at the report. "Nothing? We gave them a radio for a reason." he said, worried.

"We haven't been able to find their radio signal. Even the trackers in their dog tags seem to be offline," said Chris, "It's like they...vanished."

"Nobody just vanishes. Did air recon find anything in the area?" said Matt "Not much," said Chris, "Just that farm they had spotted."

"Nobody bothered to radio the farm?" said Matt, looking up

"Uh...they don't seem to be answering any radios," said Chris, "If they even have them."

"Right, then we go personally," said Matt, getting up with an air of finality in his voice

...

The small squadron of choppers flew over the vast wilderness of the Asian steppes, the security wall bordering on the Far Eastern Federation's border. According to Kala's last report, the farm they were looking for should be within sight soon.

"Ok...when we land, we make a statement of 'do not fuck with us'. You get me?" said Matt to the other troopers in the chopper.

"Er, what exactly do you have in mind, sir?" asked one of the troopers.

"These people saw Kala...and were the last people we know to have seen them before they dropped off the grid. They know something and they're damn well gonna tell," said Matt, angrily.

"If I may, sir," said the trooper, "You probably should think out all you're going to do there before you actually do so."

"What we're going to do is find Kala and her clan." said Matt, icily.

"Of course, but it probably wouldn't do any good to try something rash," said the trooper. "Just do your job," said Matt coldly.

"Sir, we have visual," said the pilot from the front.

"Good, everyone, get ready," Matt said.

The choppers landed at a flat area not very far from the farm. The place itself didn't seem like much. Sure, there were more barns than one would expect with a farm, but that didn't seem too peculiar.

The troopers jumped out first, Matt following before the choppers took off again to circle. "This is Vulture Brigade. I want to see whoever's in charge right now!" called Matt.

He was only met with silence since no one had come out to meet him. "Maybe they're out to lunch," suggested a trooper.

Matt glared at the trooper before calling out. "We know you're in here. We saw your vehicles. Out...NOW!" he called out.

This time, Matt got a response. A pair of figures walked out. From the way they were armored and the guns they were holding, they were obviously guards. But their uniform didn't look like Imperial armor or from any of the human forces. They also had large, misshapen-looking helmets and they walked with an odd gait. "What do you want?" called one of the guards with a growling voice.

Matt glared. "Drop the guns, I won't ask twice," he said, clicking his fingers and signalling for his men to all aim, a forest of laser dots appearing on the troopers and one of the choppers moving into a perfect firing position.

The guards tossed their guns aside, though they still seemed menacing. "You have some nerve coming here like this," said one of them, "This is private property."

"Actually, you'll find this is my property. This is a reclaimed sector and a security investigation. You have a radio, I can see the mast...so why haven't you picked up?" said Matt icily.

Just then, one of the guards looked one direction, as if someone was shouting to him from someplace Matt couldn't see. Then he turned back and said, "The masters will speak with you now."

Matt turned to the squad leader. "I don't come out in five, come in after me...weapons free," he said, making sure the guards heard.

The two guards then started leading Matt through the farm. However, something didn't seem right. Matt looked around, but couldn't see anyone but more guards. "Hey, where are all the workers?" asked Matt. "They're sorting the grain," said one of the guards.

Eventually, the two guards led Matt to the farmhouse. It was a particularly big house, with three floors and a large front porch. However, all the windows had the curtains drawn. The guards led Matt into the house in what was assume to be the living room, but with all the curtains drawn and no lights on, it was very hard to see anything.

Matt looked around in the dark, wishing he'd grabbed some NV goggles. "If you're vampires, this will end badly for you," he called out.

"No, we're not vampires," said a voice, "During one of the chaos storms, there was a bright flare and it damaged our eyes. Bright light hurts them now so we need things comfortably dark."

"Bull...I've never been blinded by them. Who the hell are you?" said Matt, annoyed.

"We are the owners of this fine and bountiful farm," said another voice, "Have you come to do business?"

"We're investigating the disappearance of...one of our ecological teams in the area. Their last transmission placed them at your farm," said Matt.

"Oh, yes, them," said another voice, "They were a sorry, bedraggled-looking lot. They were so desperate to find food, they traded nearly everything they had."

"I don't believe that for a minute. Why do you keep lying to me?" said Matt, coldly.

"Good sir, we're just business men," said the first voice, "What would we gain from waylaying soldiers? If you have trouble believing us, we can show you the equipment your team has traded."

"Sir...do you think I would have any hesitation in ordering my men to tear this place apart in a search?" said Matt in a threatening tone.

"Now, lad, that's hardly necessary," said the second voice, "Your ecological team went southeast after they stopped here. It's been a few days, so they may have changed direction. But I think you should be able to catch up with them."

Matt was half-considering ordering his men to move on anyway. "Fine...sir. Expect to hear from me again soon," he said icily.

"Oh, no need to march off in a huff," one of the voices, "Perhaps you would like some produce. We're selling it at a reasonable price."

"My men will be appropriating half your stock to help with the food shortage. Feel free to complain," said Matt, coldly, walking out. Matt ignored the agitated and outraged complaints of the so-called farmers as he walked away from the farmhouse. Though he did pause when he heard what he thought sounded like a large angry pig squealing.

His men were already loading several crates onto the main cargo chopper. "Wheels up in 3, we're done here," he called out.

"Did you find out what happened to the team?" asked one of the troopers.

"No...though I have my suspicions," said Matt, looking at the main house.

"So what's the plan?" asked the trooper, "Send someone in after dark?"

"Get a team together. We come in tonight," said Matt.

…

As soon as night had fallen, Matt's team headed straight for the farm's fences. Matt had insisted that he'll be leading this covert team, against the advice of several members. He had told his men to give him 72 hours before rolling in wholesale.

"Ok, we check the barns first," said Matt, "I doubt they need that many barns to storm their produce."

"Yes sir…" said the trooper Matt was talking too.

The first barn was locked up tight much to the team's puzzlement. "I know people consider me overly-paranoid, but is this much security necessary?" asked Matt.

One of the troopers said quietly, "Lotta movement in there."

"Maybe it's where they keep the livestock," said another trooper.

"They walk?" said the trooper, who was using a heat vision goggle to look though the wall.

"Well, a stall might not have ample space, but I'm sure they have enough room to move around," said the second trooper. "No, I mean walk, take a look," said the trooper, passing over the goggles.

The second trooped looked through. There were plenty of lifeforms in there, but they didn't look like livestock to him. But he wasn't quite sure since the shapes seemed so irregular. But he could definitely tell that they all walked on two legs and had two arms.

"Slavers...that's all we need," said Matt, coldly.

"Ok, let's head back and..." started one of the troopers. But then they all paused as they heard the unmistakeable sound of dogs growling.

The group all turned to see the guards from last time. "You're in for it now, punks," growled one of them.

"You're coming with us. Drop em," said another raising a shotgun held unsteadily.

Matt and his trooper exchanged glances before aiming their guns and firing. The guards themselves yelped as the group fired on them. Clearly, these guards weren't trained for this type of gunfight and quickly moved back. Matt looked around. "Ok...show's over. Let's get out and call in support," he said.

The team headed back towards the fence, but now they could here even more dogs growling and barking.

"What the hell? Where are these dogs?" yelled Matt, firing at another guard. "Maybe they're just play recordings to psyche us out," said a trooper.

"That don't sound like any recording I heard," said another trooper.

Suddenly, the guards seemed to change tactics. Instead of just shooting back at the troopers, they started charging them and tackling them. They moved a lot faster than Matt would have expected, especially when some of them got down on all fours.

Matt shot one charging guard in the head before being tackled by two more. "Gah, get off me you creeps!" shouted Matt as he tried to push the guards off him. He managed to grab one guard by the helmet. He struggled for a bit, trying to twist it and break the guard's neck, but he ended up just taking the helmet off. But that was when the real shock kicked in. Instead of a human head, the guard had the head of a snarling Doberman.

"Bloody hell!" yelled Matt in shock before punching the dog thing on the snout. The Doberman yelped, but then the other guard returned the favor with ample force. Then Matt just saw stars until he blacked out.

...

Matt came too in the same darkened room he had spoken to the farm owners with. A brief movement confirmed that he was tightly bound with ropes.

"I now you're there. Aren't you gonna gloat like all the other slaver scum?" called Matt when he realised the ropes had no give.

"Slavers, is that what you think we are?" asked one of the voices. "Yes...you have slaves...ergo...slaver," said Matt, conversationally.

One of the voices snorted, or was it a grunt? "Slavers sell or trade their slaves. We never let our slaves go," said the voice.

"And I'm afraid you found out too much to be let go yourself," said another voice. "I am the commander of Vulture Brigade. My men know exactly where I am and you are only 30 minutes away from Fort Khan," said Matt, coldly.

"Then you'll be worth a lot as a hostage," said one of the voices. "We don't negotiate with scum," said Matt, angrily. "Oh, we're hardly scum," said another voice.

"Oh please...what are you? Ex scientists? I can spot illegal genetic tech easily," said Matt. "Ah, he's seen the guards," said one voice. "This complicates matters," said another.

"Well, as long as he knows, there's no point of hiding," said a third before the lights suddenly came on. Matt winced a bit at the sudden brightness. When he looked, he saw three figures. They stood on two legs and wore fine clothes, but they had the heads of pigs.

"Ok...what the fuck?" said Matt after a minute in a disbelieving voice. "Yes, I suppose this is hard to understand at first," said one of the pig men, "But it's quite fascinating. You see, we have quite an unusual way of...procuring new employees."

"What makes you think my men won't turn you into pork chops?" he said. "Ah, well, your men won't be 'men' much longer," said another of the pig men. "Yes, we managed to capture all of your team," said the third pig man, "If the rest of your little troop tries to attack, we can overpower them easily."

"You have no idea who you're dealing with," laughed Matt.

The first pig grunted and said, "But you're going to know who you're dealing with."

Just then, a door opened and one of the guards came in. He had removed his helmet, showing a malamute's head. "Masters, the machine is ready," said the guard.

Matt looked at them. "Master the machines ready," he repeated in a mocking voice, "Man...you're like b-movie villains."

The pigs ignored Matt's comment. "Excellent, bring him along. I think he might enjoy this," said the first pig, waving a hoof-like hand towards Matt. Matt was picked up and literally dragged out into the farmyard towards another barn that looked more roughly built.

"You're in for a big surprise," said one of the pigs, "I guarantee you that you've never seen anything like this."

The barn doors were pushed open to reveal the wingless wreck of a Russian cargo plane poking through the barns far end. "What wonderful rust you have," taunted Matt.

"Oh, that's not the real surprise," said another of the pigs, "It's what this this old plane was carrying."

Matt was about to reply before he noticed the glow from the plane...a glow he knew. "No..." he muttered.

"It's quite a unique piece of equipment," said the third pig.

"Now I know where you came from. I bet the first thing you remember is this thing crashed in your back yard," said Matt.

"Well, the first significant thing that we remember," said the first hog, "Our lives were extremely simple before this."

"Third Energy mutation," muttered Matt as he was pushed towards the barn. Inside a large cylinder, obviously some kind of satellite judging from the smashed solar panels on either side of it sat in the middle of the barn, the Russian flag visible in faded paint on it.

"Not much to look at, but it is invaluable to our work here," said the second pig, "You have to see effects to really understand it."

"Fortunately, we're prepared to give a demonstration," said the third pig before clapping his hands. Just then, another pair of guards came in, handling one of Matt's troopers between them.

Matt stared before yelling, "Let him go...now. You have no right to do this." "It's our land, we can do what we want," said the first pig. "It's hardly the worst we could do," said the second pig.

"You should have seen what happened with the drunken souse who used to own this place," said the third.

Matt glared. "You harm him and I swear they won't even find your graves," he snarled.

"Oh, he won't be harmed," said the first pig, "He'll feel some discomfort, but that's negligible."

"You and all you know will die for this," growled Matt, such fury in his voice that the Doberman guard actually took a step back.

"Oh, do be quiet and watch this," said the third pig. The two guards dragged the trooper over to the cylinder, though he struggled all the way.

Another pig opened a hatch on the side and pressed a few buttons. "It took us a while to work it out, but we got it working," said one of the other pigs.

"Program accepted...targeting," chimed a female Russian voice from it as the top of the satellite slowly opened like a flower to reveal what looked like a crystal.

The guards pushed the trooper forward, closer to the satellite. Then the satellite shot a blue beam at the trooper. The trooper struggled before he suddenly started to swell. His armor started to rip in places as he grew taller and larger. The most notable rips were created by his growing tail and changing legs. His shouts sounded strange as his head distorted and the face stretched out.

Matt just stared as the beam shut off. "System overload...human detected in fire zone...shutting down," said the satellite's computer.

The first pig shrugged and said, "Well, he's altered enough. We could always use a new workhorse." Indeed, even though the satellite had not completed its programming, the trooper had been altered to resemble an anthropomorphic stallion.

"Take him to the pens," said the third pig. "What about him?" said the second pig asked one of the pigs, pointing at Matt.

"Given his personality, I wouldn't be surprised if he'll be turn out a jackass," said the first pig.

Just as the third pig was starting up the satellite, a golden retriever guard just ran in. "Masters, I just heard a new report on the radio."

The first pig glared at the guard and said, "What did I say about using the radio without permission?"

The guard flinched before saying, "I think you will want to hear this first before dealing with the intruders."

...

"...and neither the council nor Vulture Brigade command has commented as to why the 2nd armoured company was deployed to the Asian plains today. Rumours however hint that an anti-slaver operation is due to commence in the area shorty..." claimed the radio. The pigs stared at it in horror, suddenly realising that maybe the human's threats had been creditable after all.

"Yeah, you little piggies are going to market," said Matt, "And by market, I mean jail. If you're lucky."

"What can we do with him? If his men find him or any of our employees here, I doubt they'll be merciful," said thee first pig, angrily.

"Maybe we should just zap him now," said the second pig, "No one will believe a talking donkey, right?"

"Talking? You idiot, that'd be more suspicious than ever," said the third, "We should put him all the way down, four legs and only brays."

"Nope...my men are very vindictive...plus we have ID tags," said Matt, grinning as their discomfort

"Shut up, I'm trying to think!" snapped the first pig.

Matt shook his head and started singing "You're gonna geeet shoooot…" over and over.

The first pig gave a very porcine squeal of frustration before snapping at the guards holding him, "Lock him in the pens until we figure out what to do with him!"

Matt just laughed and yelled his song till he was dragged out of sight.

...

Matt was brought over to the barn his team was checking out earlier. The guards took a bit of time unlocking the door before opening it up. They barked as they came, making sure no one got out. "Bad dogs," said Matt, smirking as they left before looking around.

The inhabitants of the barn were humanoid, but the irregular shapes seen through the heat goggles now made more sense. Everyone was an anthropomorphic farm animals, there were horses, cattle, sheep, and even a pair of goats. "Well...this sucks," Matt muttered, looking around. The guards tossed Matt forward before walking back out the door and shutting it. The sound of turning locks quickly eliminated the idea of escape.

Matt looked around before spotting a few humans, ones clearly waiting for their turn on the genetic mixer of fate. He recognised one of the faces. "Hey...you're from Greenpeace," he said, heading over.

They looked up at Matt. "Commander Lynch, what are you doing here?" asked one of them. "I would say 'to rescue you' but I fear you would laugh at me," said Matt, gloomily.

One of the Greenpeace members sighed and said, "Being captured by Imperial soldiers would have been acceptable. But this...this is undignifying."

"You're preaching to the choir. This sucks," said Matt, annoyed.

One of the Greenpeace member suddenly sneezed. He groaned and said, "They had to stick us in a barn. My hay fever's going crazy."

"Where's Kala? I don't see her around," said Matt, looking around "She was the first taken to that machine," said a Greenpeace member, "We haven't seen her afterwards, but I think she's one of the dogs."

Matt looked around. "One of those psycho security guards?" he said.

"The pigs were probably impressed with her fire-casting," said another member, "If she is one of them, it's gonna make breaking out even harder."

"Not really, we have a dog on the inside if she's been put in the goon force," said Matt sounding cheerful before noticing everyone's stare. "What?" he asked, confused. "I don't think you've noticed yet, but the pigs have total control over the dogs," said the Greenpeace member, "Apparently, it doesn't matter if they were full canine or human beforehand. Maybe it's a part of canine instincts, but they'll obey the pigs without question. And with Kala acting guard, it'll be impossible to escape."

"My men have orders to take this place apart in 2 days. There must be something we can do," said Matt, exasperated.

"I hope you told them there were friendlies here," said a cow woman. Matt paused as he looked at her before asking, "Alice?"

"Unfortunately," grumbled the cow woman, "I don't even like beef that much. And it's even worse walking around with this sloshing with every step." She indicated her new udder with her hand.

Matt, despite everything, started sniggering before having to resort to stepping on his own foot to keep a straight face.

"It's not funny," snapped Alice. "Right, right," said Matt, trying to turn serious again, "Ok, if that third energy thing could zap animals part way to people and the other way around for human, it probably has a reverse function for both."

"I don't know. We'd need to know what that machine is. All we know is that it's Russian," said Alice.

"Yeah, how'd the Russians set it to change humans and animals like that?" asked another Greenpeace member.

"And why?" asked another. "Probably a weapon for use in WW3. It would have been a great way to take down an attacking force without risking men or wasting weaponry. Guess the plane was shot down," said one of the Greenpeace members.

"Still, an animalization ray?" asked Alice. "Better for wiping out command structures then a neutron bomb," said Matt. "Anyways, you did tell your team to watch out for friendlies, right?" asked Alice, "You didn't just tell them to ride in and blow this place to Kingdom Come, did you?"

"Mostly 'shoot anyone with a gun' orders," said Matt, sounding embarrassed.

There was a pause before Alice asked, "You don't happen to have any Scandinavian or Norwegian ancestry, do you?" Matt looked puzzled, "No, why do you ask? Look, if we can get to the radio, I can get them to come in and rescue us all."

"Those swine keep all the good things in their house," said a sheep, "This whole setup is just so they can enjoy their own luxuries."

"Damn," said Matt, to himself.

"I think our main problem is finding some way to take care of the dogs," said a bull, "We won't be able to get anywhere with them hounding us."

"Any idea how they're controlling their guards?" asked Matt.

"I think it may be voice-command," said another sheep, "They always stop when the pigs yell at them."

"Hmm…" said Matt, thinking to himself before saying, "Have you seen them wearing any kind of badges, bracelets, anything like that. They'd be identical."

"Well, they have those collars," said the horse that Matt recognized as being one of his troopers, "I noticed that when they were rounding us up."

"Control collars, they were probably on the plane. I only read a file on them when we broke into and took over the old KGB building," said Matt.

"How do they work?" asked Alice, "Are they like shock collars?"

"More or less...they go in hand with a badge tag; needle in the collar injects something that makes the wearers susceptible to the tag owner's orders...nasty stuff. I had the prototypes in Moscow smashed," said Matt. "Then I hope you can remove the collars then," said Alice.

"They're easy to remove. The trick'll be getting to them. We destroy the badges that go with them then we practically render them useless," said Matt.

"Good," said Alice, "Let's do it the next chance we get. Because if they use that milker on me one more time... STOP LAUGHING!"

…

Late that night, when everyone was sound asleep, a small white blob waddled over the top of the hill. He looked around and said, "Yep, I'm really lost now. I knew I should have got a map." He looked around confused before spotting lights. "Oh...a farm. I wonder if they have coconut cake?" he said happily before waddling towards the farm.

...

The next day, Matt was woken up to a bucket of water to the face, resulting in several imaginative and, in 2 cases, brand new curses being yelled.

"Get up, you lout," snapped the dog guard, "There's plenty of work to be done."

"I'd tell you to bite me but I fear you'd take me up on it," said Matt, annoyed

"Up and at 'em," snapped the dog as he pulled Matt to his feet, "Everyone works here."

"Fuck that...half of these people are half-dead from exhaustion," said Matt, angrily, pointing to two of the Greenpeace clan who were struggling to stand.

"They'll get their strength back when the machine's done its work on them," said the guard, "And if you don't wanna be that tired, I suggest you get your breakfast." Matt got up at that, helping one of the clan up, "About time."

…

Breakfast wasn't particularly enjoyable. It just consisted of a bowl of oatmeal that was only slightly better than gruel served in a wooden bowl with wooden spoons.

"What the hell is this? Tastes like something the dog threw up," Matt said disgustedly before looking over, "Erm...no offence."

"It's nutritious enough to keep you going, that's all that matters," said one of the goats.

"The pigs get all the good food," said the other goat.

"No wonder they're big enough to attract orbiting moons," said Matt, getting a few chuckles before a guard came over.

"Trust me, they can serve worse," said Alice, "I'd just eat now and think about payback later."

Matt shrugged. "Still tastes like crap...woops," he said, dropping his spoon and diving below the table to retrieve it.

No one noticed the white blob had snuck in. He was wandering around near the tables, looking for something to eat. He then noticed Alice's udder hanging down. "Ooh, fresh milk," he said before approaching the table and reaching a hand out.

Alice yelped a second later before Matt came up, holding his spoon. "Phew...lucky it didn't land in any pies," he muttered before looking at Alice glaring at him. "Erm...what?" he asked, clueless.

The next thing Matt knew, Alice slapped his face before yelling, "Creep!" and getting up to sit at another table.

Matt rubbed his struck cheek and asked, "What did I do?"

A guard walked over at that and said in a distorted voice, "Ok...what was that about?" "I have no idea," said Matt before looking around for anything that may have upset Alice. Matt turned to see something white squeezing into a hole in the wall, muttering to itself. "Mouse," he muttered.

"Well, hurry it up, there's a lot of work to be done here," said the guard.

"I've not finished breakfast yet," said Matt, turning his back to continue.

"Too bad," said the guard before grabbing Matt by the back of his armor and lifting him up.

"Hey...I wanna see my union head!" complained Matt as he was carried out.

...

Matt had heard that farm work was supposed to be gruelling, but he had no personal experience with it before, having grown up in the city. Still, he had a feeling that this treatment of farmhands was sub-regulation. "You're kidding. You pull the tractors?" he said in shock.

"Yeah...pigs use all the petrol for the generator," said a bull farmhand.

"What's the point of tractors if they're too stingy to fuel them?" asked Matt.

"Hell if I know. Last person who asked got food rations docked for a week," said the bull, gloomily.

"Just be glad you're too scrawny to pull the plow," said a horse farmhand, "At least right now."

"I'm not letting them get me anywhere near their little machine," said Matt, annoyed. The horse snorted and said, "Like they'll give you a choice. I just hope you don't come out another dog."

"I like dogs," said Matt sulkily as the horse walked off.

"Then how about you get to work?" said Alice before lowering her voice and adding, "with getting rid of their collars."

Matt rolled his eyes before looking around for a suitable victim/test subject.

He quickly ruled out the Rottweilers and Dobermans and such. The breeds that were bred for guard dogs would be too much to handle. He would need someone smaller, with less muscle strength, and a more manageable breed of dog.

He spotted a guard near the well and wandered over, randomly grabbing a metal bucket for an excuse. The guard was a female rough collie. She was within Matt's size range of grappling and sheepdogs don't put up much of a fight, right?

"Hey there...need some water for the tractor teams. Don't want em keeling over, right?" he said, cheerfully.

The collie gave Matt a harsh look and said, "They'll get their next water break in 15 minutes. We don't stop for every little discomfort."

"They'll be dead in ten...and the humans aren't as resilient. Won't the three little morons be pissed if their new stocks snuff it?" Matt said cheekily.

The collie growled before saying, "Fine, the water faucet's over there. But don't try any funny stuff."

Matt wandered over and made a theatrics of trying to open it. "Doesn't anyone oil this? It's rusted stiff," he complained.

"Oh for the love of-" snapped the collie before walking over and grabbing the faucet. Matt walked behind and started poking the top of the collies head. "What are you doing?" snapped the collie.

"Just looking for the sweetspot," said Matt.

"Sweetspot? What sweet-" started the collie before Matt clonked her over the head with the bucket.

"Annnnd she's outta there," said Matt before carefully looking at the collar. Fortunately, the collar had already been damaged by the bucket. It's more than likely it wouldn't work when she wakes back up. Still, Matt didn't want to take chances. "C'mon...get off, you little..." he began before grinning as the damaged collar lock gave way.

"Gotcha," said Matt before pulling the collar off, "Now let's see what her personality's really like without the forced aggression." Waking the collie was simple enough; there was a bucket and a water faucet. It didn't require much imagination to put it together. Matt immediately refilled the bucket and tipped its ice cold contents on the dog's head, causing it to yelp. "Rise and shine," said Matt.

"Uuuurgh...what hit me?" moaned the collie.

"A metal bucket, but at least you don't have that albatross of a collar around your neck," said Matt.

"Wait...Matt? Is that you?" said the collie.

"Uh, yeah, Commander Lynch, at your service," said Matt.

The collie sighed, "Thank God...when those pigs ambushed us..."

"Wait a minute..." said Matt, "I know your voice...Kala?"

"Of course it's me. Don't you recognize...oh, yeah," said the collie.

"Yeah, I heard you got turned into a dog, but I imagined you as more of the cocker spaniel type," said Matt, "But you're a..."

"Collie, I know, I get the pun," said Kala, a little annoyed.

"Fine, I...uh oh, here come the pork chops, play along," said Matt, spotting the pigs heading for the fields.

Kala quickly stood to attention as the three big pigs came towards her. "Master Stroh, Master Stock, Master Stein, I found this loafer trying to get a drink of water instead of working the fields," she said.

"Hey...I was getting water for the pulling teams before they pass out," retorted Matt, faking the angry tone.

Stock snorted and said, "They can wait another 15 minutes. These fields won't till themselves."

"If they die, nobody'll till them," said Matt.

"They're not going to keel over in the next two minutes," said Stroh.

Matt glared at that. "And if they do?" he said.

"We can always find some replacements," said Stein, "Anyways, I hear the meat market is good these days."

"That's just fucked up..." said Matt, disgusted

Stein shrugged and said, "Business is business and time is money. Get your water if you must, but enough slacking. Everyone must work."

Matt glared and picked up the bucket, walking off. Kala walked beside him, ostensibly to keep him from trying anything funny, but really to talk with him. "None of us guards really like them either," she said, "But we can't express it because of the collars. If you can get them free, they'll switch sides in an instant."

"How the hell do they do it? I didn't see the control tags on them," muttered Matt.

"I don't know," said Kala, "I'll keep an eye out, but-"

"Hey, collie!" shouted Stock, "Get that human to go faster. He's holding up the production."

Kala, who knew what they expected, muttered, "Sorry about this," before pushing Matt hard enough to send him face forward into the mud.

Matt picked himself up with as much dignity as he could. "Kala, I don't blame you for this, but I am going to roast those swine," he said.

...

Meanwhile the pigs were discussing what to do. "We can't just kill him. If his people even suspect us..." said Stock.

"I still say make an ass out of him before he makes jackasses out of us," said Stroh.

"He was right about his military. What if he's right about this tag he mentioned?" said Stein.

"Then we ought to search him and find that tag of his," said Stroh.

"He's probably got it under his skin," said Stock.

"So? We just get one of the guards to cut it out," said Stein.

"And we'll donkify him afterwards," said Stroh.

"Sounds like a plan..." said Stroh, grinning

"Then it's settled," said Stein, "As soon as we remove the tag, we'll have a new packmule."

Stroh however had one final niggle bouncing around, "What if they're early?"

Stock snorted and said, "How could they be early? Lynch has no way to contact them."

...

That night, Kala had taken Matt from the barn for some more 'interrogation'. The other guards didn't question it, as if they could question any order.

Matt chuckled as they finally entered the grounds of the pigs' house. "Man, the collars really did a number on those guys," he said.

"It's not funny," said Kala, "There's a part of them that's still their own, but are unable to control themselves in anyways. And no one likes being in the backseat of their own body."

"Yeah...I could get that," said Matt, peering through the front door and seeing Stock just inside with his back to the door. "I can't resist," he said before pushing the door open so the handle clonked the pig on the back of the head, felling him silently.

Kala was staring in horror. "Are you nuts? They'll kill you." she hissed.

"In a few hours, the militia's gonna be rolling in and taking potshots on anyone they'll think is an enemy," said Matt, "There's no time to skirt around every one of them."

Kala looked down at the unconscious pig before saying, "Ok...I saw the radio this way. I think the previous owners tried to set up a survivor station," leading the way quietly down the hallway.

"Ok, I'll radio the militia, you make sure those other two don't interrupt my transmission," said Matt.

Kala nodded and stood to attention outside the door the duo had arrived at, Matt slowly opening it before slipping inside to see a dusty radio set in the corner. "This thing had better be able to work," muttered Matt.

Matt clicked on the power and winced as a burst of radio static came forth. Matt grabbed the controls to tune it before anyone heard. Fortunately, Matt had memorized all the radio frequencies that Coalition and Vulture Brigade forces used. He finally air punched as he heard voices he knew. "Ebony One. This is Kingpin, over," he said, slowly, using the codenames Chris had come up with

A voice came over, "This is Ebony One, where the hell have you been, over."

"We're in deep shit. Confirm some...unusual slavers in position at the farm. Be advised...the local security is controlled by some of the control collars we recovered from the KGB headquarters," said Matt.

"Control collars? But we smashed all the prototypes we found. How did they get those?"

"There's a wrecked Russian cargo plane on the premises. Some kinda Third Energy-powered satellite also aboard it," said Matt.

"I'm supposing this satellite is owing towards the 'unusual' part somehow," said the voice on the other end.

"Yes...come in with non-lethal only...only shoot in self-defence. I'll try to shut down the collars on my end. Confirm receiving of new orders," said Matt, looking at the door.

"Roger that, you may still have to wait a while for backup. What's the condition of your team?"

"Down, out and under the effect of the satellites third energy. Come in wearing full hazmat. I'm not losing anymore men to this thing," said Matt.

"Can you describe the effects of the Third Energy exposure?" asked the voice.

"I could, but you wouldn't believe me unless you saw it for yourself," said Matt.

"Erm...roger that. ETA at full speed is 16 hours...can you hold out that long?" said the voice.

"I think so," said Matt, "Remember, there are only three...individuals who are operating this slave farm. All the rest are either forced to farm or forced to guard."

"We'll need a description," said the voice.

Matt sighed and lost patience. "Read the three little pigs then," he said.

"Excuse me?" asked the voice.

"Trust me, these three will stand out. And I highly doubt they'll be on the front lines," said Matt.

Matt turned the radio off and said, "Right...now to find the collar controls," to himself. He crept out the door and headed towards the stairs. He figured that the pigs would probably want the collars' controls close just in case and they're more than likely to sleep upstairs.

"Kala...stay here and if pig boy wakes up...fry him," hissed Matt before heading up the stairs silently and looking around. He checked the first door and found a bathroom which smelled heavily of pig. "Huh, guess these three don't like to be dirty," said Matt. He carefully shut the door and headed down checking the doorknobs as he went before he found one that looked newer and was locked. "Hmm...let's see what's in here," said Matt before examining the lock.

After a few minutes, the lock gave way, revealing several pieces of equipment with Russian labels on it, clearly some kinda control device. A list of orders was on a screen, one clearly saying that pigs must be obeyed at all times.

"Alright, let's unplug this stuff," said Matt before pausing. He was pretty sure he heard a noise from downstairs. "Damn," muttered Matt before spotting a cable marked as 'coolant' in Russian. "Hmm...let's see what happens," said Matt, pulling the lead out, a blue liquid pouring across the floor.

Matt waved the fumes from his face before looking at the screen. "Let's see if I can give them a new order," he said. Matt quickly typed in a sleep command when a whistle is heard before entering the command and running for the door.

He paused at the top of the stairs, because there was definitely noise going on below. He paled as he made out Kala's voice. "Let me go...dammit!" she yelled.

It took every ounce of self-control Matt had to keep him from charging downstairs. Instead, he looked for a place to hide and watch. The view he saw almost got him to yell again. Two of the guards from outside had Kala in an armlock while the remaining two pigs stood in front of her.

"Well, well, well," said Stroh, "Looks like some naughty puppy managed to slip her collar."

"Get your thugs off of me," snarled Kala, showing off her teeth.

"Oh, we will," said Stein, "We just need to make sure your uniform's up to standards."

With that, Stroh pulled out an intact version of the collar and started walking towards Kala. Kala started struggling even further and started barking so fiercely that Stroh hesitated as he got close.

Stein rolled his eyes and snatched the collar off his companion before walking forward. "Show some backbone," he said, annoyed. Kala snapped at his fingers as he got close before he managed to get his hands around her neck and snap the collar on. "Now then, who's your master?" said Stein.

Kala struggled for a few seconds before stopping and saying, "You are," in a very compliant tone.

Matt glared before remembering that she knew he was here and, cursing himself, slowly slipped back out of sight.

"Master, I was not the only intruder in here," said Kala, "Lynch is also in here."

"What? That's it! Bring him back here! If he resists, rip his throat out!" said Stein, angrily.

"Ok, time to find a window," said Matt as he hurried back to one of the unlocked doors. He could already hear footsteps on the stairs before he spotted an open window and running for it. "I really hope there's a soft landing out there," he said before throwing himself out the window.

He landed with a crash in a water barrel. Unfortunately, said barrel was empty. Matt slowly crawled his way out of the barrel. "Any landing you can limp away from is a good one," said Matt, though the twenty splinters in him told him otherwise.

He was just patting himself on the back mentally and rubbing his sore back physically when a paw landed on his shoulder. "Ah crap," muttered Matt, having forgotten about the guards outside.

"Going somewhere?" growled the Doberman.

"Er, towards the nearest first aid kit," said Matt before a fist connected with his face.

...

The three pigs, one with a bandage around his head and an aimless smile at nothing, glared at Matt who just smirked. "You cause no small amount of trouble," said Stroh.

"I take pride in my work," said Matt, "Give it up. My men are less than a day away. You'll need longer than that to find my tag. If you surrender, I might persuade my men NOT to roast you to ashes."

"It'll probably take less time to find if we just skin you," said Stroh.

"And if the tag suddenly indicates I'm dead?" said Matt, pleasantly

Stroh gave an angry squeal before saying, "Let's just make an ass out of him and get it over with."

"I wanna ride the pretty donkey," said Stock in a dazed voice, "Where's the pretty donkey?"

"Man...I didn't mean to hit him that hard," said Matt, whistling in sympathy.

"He always did have a soft head," said Stein.

"Hey...hey," said Stroh, pointing to where the two guards heads had slumped forward and snoring noises coming from inside. Matt mentally slapped himself for forgetting that sleep command he slipped into the collar's programming.

"What did you do, you monkey?" yelled Stroh, angrily.

"I gave them a break," said Matt, "You guys probably don't let them sleep enough."

"That's it...YOU...WAKE UP!" yelled Stein, slapping a guard awake, "Take him outside and get rid of him."

"Oh no, not the animalizing machine," said Matt in a sarcastic and melodramatic tone.

"No...take to the ruins south of here and kill him. If they are following his tag, that'll make sure they never find us," said Stein, with a mirthless grin.

Matt knew the pig was deadly serious about this. And it'll still be hours before the troops got there and who knows when the computer will short out. "Hey, wait!" called Matt, "You wouldn't just kill me like that."

Stein nodded. "You're right...we won't. Kala, take him to the ruins and snap his neck as soon as his men arrive," he said, adding the last part to Kala.

Kala nodded and said, "Yes, master," before grabbing Matt.

"You sicko's..." yelled Matt before Kala clocked him across the back of the head.

...

When Matt came to, he was aware that his hands were bound together and he was riding something moving. "What hit me?" he moaned.

"A wrench," said Kala's voice, "But that's going to be the least of your troubles soon."

"Oh...nuts," moaned Matt as a few memories regrouped. "Kala...you don't want to break my neck," he tried before attempting to whistle, only for his lips to be too dry.

"It's not a matter if I want to," said Kala, "Master Stein gave me an order and I must obey."

"He's an asshole. You shouldn't listen to assholes," said Matt, desperately.

"It doesn't matter, I must obey," said Kala before stopping the jeep she was driving.

Matt was forced up to see several dust columns in the distance with a half dozen indistinct shapes above them.

"Oh look, the army's here," said Matt, "I guess you'll have to go back and defend the farm. Probably won't have enough time to deal with me now."

He stopped as Kala started growling. "Uh oh," muttered Matt before running for it. Fortunately, Kala hadn't bound his legs like she did his hand, so Matt thought he had a chance for a few seconds. But he had forgotten that dogs are a lot faster than humans, even when they're half-human.

He found this out when Kala tackled him to the ground and tried to get her paws on his head. Though Matt struggled to get free, he eventually felt her hands on the side of his head. He braced himself for the fatal twist that was sure to follow.

...

The pigs were looking at the computer to try and work out what Matt had done. "There...look at what he entered," said Stein knowingly.

"A sleep command," said Stock, who had gotten his wits back, "Simple, but effective."

Stein carefully removed it. "There...problem solved," he said before the computer screen began to whine.

"I thought you said you fixed it," said Stroh. Suddenly, he felt something wet against his hoof. He looked down to see the sizeable puddle of coolant that had formed. "Oh no," he said dully before the computer bank exploded, tossing them off their hooves.

A few seconds later, three Dobermans came in. "Masters, are you alright?" asked one.

"No...no, we're not. Disarm and lock up all the newcomer guards in the barn. I have a feeling we may be expecting company," said Stock, annoyed.

...

A few dozen miles away, Kala was about to twist Matt's neck when she suddenly grabbed at her collar and made gagging sounds like it was choking her.

Matt crawled back a little and watched in shock as Kala finally pulled off the collar, gasping for air. This was probably lucky as a half dozen VB troopers ran into view. "Nobody shoot!" shouted Matt before looking at Kala, "Are you okay?"

Kala at Matt for a few seconds before lunging forward. Matt expected her to go for his throat, but instead, she started licking his face. "Gah...on second thought...sedative dart!" yelled Matt, trying to get the slobber off. The troopers, however, appreciated the humor too much and watched Matt struggle to get Kala off. "Ok, Kala, good girl, OFF!" snapped Matt before pushing her away.

Kala blushed under her fur and said, "Sorry, doggy instincts."

Matt wiped the drool off his face and muttered, "As if I don't get enough of this from Striker."

"About that, sir..." began one of the troopers before Striker, in a custom-made flak jacket, cleared the troopers with a jump and pounced on Matt.

"Gah! Alright, Striker, I missed you too...GET OFF!" shouted Matt before pushing the young raptor off him.

Striker looked at Kala then, cocking his head before saying in a puzzled way, "Kala need haircut."

Kala gave Striker an annoyed growl. Then she turned to Matt and said, "By the way, you need to wash your face better. I could taste that mud on you."

"I'm sorry. Prison camps tend not to have sinks," said Matt sarcastically.

"Er, is that Ms Triseptus?" asked one trooper.

"Yes it is; that's what the satellite does. I want that thing intact. As for the piggies, we have a food shortage...let's get some pork chops," said Matt, icily.

...

Not too much later, the militia was at the farm's fence. There were some canine guards waiting, but they were almost all Dobermans with the guards noticeably absent.

"Ok...those guys aren't collared. Consider them hostile. The rest of Greenpeace and the other slaves are in that barn..." said Matt, pointing to the slave barn. "...and the satellites in that pile of junk," he finished, pointing to the satellitre barn.

"Where the, er, pigs?" asked a trooper.

"Probably cowering in their farmhouse," said Kala coldly, "They never do the dirty work themselves." Kala pointed to another barn. "That's the armoury, I reckon a big explosion ought to stir things up," she said.

"Roger that," said the trooper before sending the order through. A few seconds later, a few tanks were pointing at the armory barn.

...

Meanwhile, the pigs were in their farmhouse, looking at the militia outside. "Oh, we're done for," said Stroh. "We're bacon for sure," said Stock. "Shut up...Matt's just delivered us a good 200 potential workers. All we need to do is get to the..." began Stein angrily before a whining noise was heard. The three pigs looked out the window in time to see a chopper sweep over the farm and the armory to explode in a spectacular fireball.

"AAAAHHHH...THAT'S IT...WE'RE BACON!" screamed Stock, diving under the table.

"Get out here!" snapped Stein, pulling at Stock's large bottom, "We've still got one chance. We'll use the machine on them, full power."

Stroh looked worried. "Stein, I'm not sure that's a good idea. All the notes with the machine said that shouldn't be done," he said.

"You want to end up in the slaughterhouse?" pointed out Stein. "Let's do it," said Stock immediately.

The pigs quickly hurried out the back door and ran towards the barn. They could see their few loyal guards confronting the gun ships, with absolutely no success. Several of their guards had also tried to take cover near the slaver barn and were experiencing the hard way what happens when there are too many slaves and too few guards. A gunship swept overhead, its loudspeaker demanding that the remaining guards drop their weapons.

The pigs didn't stay any longer to find out what happened. They ran into the satellite barn and locked the doors behind them. Stock immediately got to work in setting the satellite while Stroh looked for any weapon they could use. "Don't forget these," said Stein, holding up three bracelets, "With a blast this big, we'll need them to remain unaffected."

Stroh looked at them. "Those things?" he said disbelieving.

Stein glared and said, "That's what they're for according to the notes.

The other two pigs didn't have time to argue and they didn't want to be wrong either. They quickly put the bracelets on before they started working on the satellite. They were nearly done when they heard a knock on the door. "Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in," said Matt's taunting voice.

Stein glared. "Are we lowering ourselves to taunts now, commander? Surely we can work something out," he said, trying to stall.

"Considering you're guilty of raiding, larceny, human trafficking, cruelty to animals, something in between those two that isn't technically in the book, and you have no bargaining chips at all...nope, nothing to work with," said Matt.

"I'm afraid you're wrong there," said Stein as his brother nodded, lights on the satellite coming to life.

"Oh yes, I forgot, you're also guilty of using illegal mind control technology," said Matt.

"In a minute, you won't care, mule," said Stein, tauntingly, "Now brother."

Stock flipped the last switch and the satellite started powering up, the top opening like a flower and glowing blue.

However, instead of powering up, a Russian-accented voice spoke from the computer. "This is the voice of Dr Victor Alenkov, head of the Russian Scientific Association. If you are hearing this...I am dead, and you, the European Federation, are the killers," it began, at the same time that the bracelets tightened so they couldn't be removed with a beeping noise.

Stroh was the first to panic. He grabbed at his bracelet and tried to yank it off. "What is with these things?" he yelled.

"I designed these bracelets with my revenge in mind. This device is not meant for war as you think it is. It was made for terraforming planets like Mars. But you have killed me, taken my lives work...so I shall make you into the pigs that you are," said the voice, adding coldly, "Das vadanya," before the satellite began to charge up.

At that, the three pigs frantically struggled to remove the bracelets as the barn began to fill with blue light.

...

Matt noticed the light and yelled to run. "Get back if you value your species!" he yelled. The troopers didn't need to be told twice. They had already seen the guards and some of the workers, they didn't want to take chances.

After the lightshow ended, everyone slowly got to their feet. "Ok...sergeant...check it out," Matt said.

The sergeant carefully approached the door. A few solid kicks and the door broke open.

"Well? What do you see?" called out Matt

"Uh, just three pigs," said the sergeant.

"Yes, that's who we came for," said Matt, "Let me guess, they're trying to plead for their lives."

"Uh, it looks like they're just grunting," said the sergeant.

Matt walked over and looked inside. He saw Stroh, Stock, and Stein, but they were on all fours and their clothes looked a lot looser. The pigs looked at Matt and oinked.

"Hmm..." said Matt, a little lost for words before looking at the now-inert satellite, "Get a tech team here. Let's see if there's a reverse switch on this thing..."

...

A little while later, the tech team had gotten the satellite in working order. They still had a lot to learn about the machine, but they were certain they at least had the animal-to-human part figured out.

"Ok...you sure this'll work?" said Matt, as Kala was led to the machine. "99.2% sure," said Techo. "What's the other .8%?" asked Matt, curiously.

"She...becomes more of a dog," said Techo. "Make sure it isn't," said Matt with a glare.

"Of course, I will," said Techo, "I'm not stupid."

Unknown to everyone, a little white blob had wandered in from the other side of the wrecked plane, looking noticeably plumper. "Ooh...shouldn't have had that green potato," he moaned before looking at the machine. "Ooh, shiny," he said before waddling over. He opened a small panel and poked inside. At that point, the satellite flared up to fire, sending the blob shooting unseen across the barn on a trail of flame.

"Whoa, that's not supposed to happen," said Techo, scrambling for the controls. However, the firing sequence had already started up. Matt ran forward before pushing Kala out the way of the beam...which scored a direct hit on him instead.

As soon as Techo had powered the machine down, the group ran towards Matt. "Matt, are you ok?" asked Kala.

Matt sat up before saying, "Fine, actually, barely felt anything." Matt then noticed some sniggering.

"Ok...what did it do," said Matt in a dejected voice. Kala handed Matt a hand mirror which he looked into. He looked virtually the same with the exception of two long hairy donkey ears on the sides of his head. "TECHO!" he yelled, angrily enough that Kala half-expected steam to come out

"Not a problem, I can fix it," said Techo before looking over the satellite, "Ah, here, we are, these two wires were misplaced, wonder how that happened." He fixed the wires and closed the panel.

Matt glared right up until the satellite blasted him and Kala. Matt felt the sides of his head and was relieved to see his ears were back to normal. "That's a relief," he said.

"I'll say," said Kala, who was human again, "I'd like to go one week with my proper body and mind."

"Techo, as soon as the last person's back to normal, rip the innards out of that thing," said Matt, looking at the satellite.

…

_Journal of Kala Triseptus_

_This has certainly been a productive if somewhat excruciating week. While being turned into half-animals has not been fun, we at least gained a lot out of it. The farm will be perfect for providing food for New Moscow, once it's been properly equipped. Most of the farmhands were glad to be restored to human form and back on their own farms. The small remainder was the farmhands that had started out like animals. _

_They were content to stay on the farm as long as they were treated better. The 'animalization ray' was dismantled, but methodically. I don't know what they could learn from reverse-engineering that thing, but I've had more than enough of that. I'm just glad to be back in New Moscow. Oh, and as for Stroh, Stock, and Stein, well… let's just say that pork's gonna be on the menu for a couple days._


End file.
